Christmas is hit by ‘shrinkflation’: Shoppers set to spend an average £105 more this Xmas as price of mince pies, chocolates and biscuits rise – despite shrinking package sizes
- 60% people are noticing shrinkflation among festive items, Barclays report says
- Manufacturers trying to keep prices unchanged amid rising production costs
Shoppers will spend an average of £105.43 more on Christmas this year amid price increases for mince pies, chocolates and boxes of biscuits despite ‘shrinkflation’.
Festive food and drink is expected to be the largest contributor to this rise, with an average increase of £25.87, followed by gifts up £18.62 and activities up £11.86.
The extra spending is linked to rising costs and shrinkflation, with 60 per cent of people noticing some festive items are getting smaller despite an unchanged price.
Some 36 per cent said they spotted shrinking sizes of boxes of chocolates, 28 per cent for tins of biscuits and 15 per cent for cheese, according to the Barclays report.
Meanwhile 14 per cent had noticed shrinkflation for mince pies and 13 per cent for Christmas cake, at a time when the official inflation rate is still at nearly 5 per cent.
It comes as a TikTok video of a British woman comparing what she says is the shrinking size of two Celebrations boxes from 2009 and the present day went viral.
#celebrationchocolates#smallersizebiggerprice#dotheythinkwewontnotice😂#fypシ
A TikTok video of a British woman Deborah Lee Cowell comparing what she says is the shrinking size of two Celebrations boxes from 2009 (right) and the present day went viral
Deborah Lee Cowell says in the clip: ‘This is the Celebration box today with the tiny best before date there, and it’s 600g.
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‘And the one that I’ve had in my cupboard for years holding my dog’s biscuits treats which is best before date nice and big so you can read it, 29/03/09, and it’s holding 975g. The difference in that.’
Ms Cowell posted the clip with the hashtags ‘#celebrationchocolates #smallersizebiggerprice #dotheythinkwewontnotice #fyp’ – and it has racked up more than 18,000 views.
MailOnline has contacted Mars, which makes Celebrations, for comment.
Shrinkflation has reached epidemic proportions in UK stores as manufacturers attempt to maintain profits and keep prices unchanged amid rising production costs.
The tactic involves slightly reducing packaging sizes or weights of products without a corresponding cut in price – and can often leave shoppers fooled.
Everything from Andrex toilet tissue to Lurpak butter, McVitie’s Digestives, Penguin multipacks, Fairy Liquid and Pringles tubes have been cut in size in recent years.
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UK supermarkets have come under pressure in recent months to follow French stores by putting warning labels on items that have been subject to shrinkflation.
In September, France’s second biggest supermarket Carrefour began labelling such products with: ‘This product has seen its weight decrease and the price charged by our supplier increase’.
The move followed a similar decision by rival Intermarche.
French ministers have described shrinkflation as a ‘swindle’ and plan to change the law to force manufacturers to be honest.
As for the Barclays report, its data also showed shoppers got into the festive spirit early this year, flocking to the high street to take advantage of month-long Black Friday sales.
Consumer card spending grew 2.9 per cent year-on-year in November, with 65 per cent of Britons confident in their ability to spend on non-essential items which was at its highest level since April.
Data also showed shoppers got into the festive spirit early this year, flocking to the high street to take advantage of month-long Black Friday sales (Pictured: Oxford Street on November 24)
Wet weather was said to have hampered restaurants, but helped rally clothing retailers as shoppers made the most of seasonal discounts to update winter wardrobes, with clothing and department store spending up 2.8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
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The report also found supermarkets saw a 5 per cent uplift which was smaller than the 5.2 per cent in October as food price inflation continues to ease.
Spending on takeaways increased 6.1 per cent while digital content and subscriptions were up by 5.8 per cent, which Barclays said was ‘likely helped by much anticipated releases such as the final season of The Crown’.
Confidence in personal finances also improved, while concerns about inflation and food prices fell to their lowest levels since December 2021
Jack Meaning, Chief UK Economist at Barclays, said: ‘This data suggests consumers are continuing to spend more but get less for their money, as spending growth remains below inflation.
‘However, the gap is narrowing as the rate of price increases slows, and we expect it to narrow further in the coming months.’
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