In addition to shrinkflation (smaller size for the same price) and skimpflation (lower quality for the same price), the other related terms that describe consumer-unfriendly business practices include excuseflation, shitflation, greenflation, climateflation, fossilflation, and spaving.
Here is a breakdown of these terms:
- Shrinkflation: The practice of reducing a product's size, quantity, or volume while the price remains the same or increases. The goal is to hide a price increase from consumers who might not notice the change in net weight or count.
- Skimpflation: This involves reducing the quality of a product or service while the price stays constant. Examples include hotels offering less frequent housekeeping, airlines reducing in-flight services, or manufacturers using cheaper ingredients in food products, such as replacing real chocolate with a "chocolaty coating".
Other Related Terms
- Excuseflation: This occurs when companies raise prices and blame the general economic climate (like inflation or supply chain issues), even if those reasons do not fully account for the price increase.
- Shitflation: A more colloquial term, used to refer to maintaining a product's price while significantly decreasing its quality, combining the concepts of inflation and a degradation in the product.
- Greenflation: This describes the inflationary pressure and cost increases on goods and services that result from environmental policies and the transition to green energy. These costs are often passed on to the consumer.
- Climateflation: This term is linked to the increased costs of products caused by natural disasters and severe weather events resulting from climate change (e.g., droughts affecting crop yields).
- Fossilflation: This reflects the price volatility and increased costs related to the ongoing dependency on fossil energy sources.
- Spaving: Unlike the other terms, this is a marketing tactic rather than a direct form of hidden price/value change. It involves brands offering frequent sales or promotions to encourage consumers to spend more (save money by "spaving" on bulk or multiple items), which can still lead to increased overall spending.
