Inflation vs. Shrinkflation vs. Skimpflation vs. Sh*tflation
We’ve all become familiar with price inflation. And over the past few years, particularly, more of us have become familiar with shrinkflation — the quantity of a consumer good becoming less (e.g. a cereal box getting smaller).
But what about some other, even more hidden, types of inflation? Related to shrinkflation, or perhaps even the same thing if defined in a certain way, is a phenomenon known as ‘skimpflation’. Skimpflation has become a term to describe worsening consumer services or worsening experiences with consumer services. For example, when you stay at a hotel, you might notice that you don’t get your room cleaned as much.
Perhaps the most insidious type of inflation is sh*tflation or crap-flation. This is when a product decreases in quality. So, for instance, you might notice that new shoes aren’t as durable as they used to make them. This is arguably worse than shrinkflation (if you don’t define shrinkflation in a broad way). Prices and amounts are very transparent most of the time, but quality can be very hidden.
However, it’s not as if people usually just ignore quality. If they are ordering something online and the product is cheap, it’s perfectly natural for someone to be skeptical that the quality will be good.
It may be the case that I am just ignorant, but I have no idea how inflation statistics can capture all of this. At the very least, I don’t know how accurate the stats are, particularly when it comes to quality. Because clearly things like quality are important to consumers.
