‘I just want people to be aware’: Costco shopper buys Kirkland’s chicken thigh cuts. Then she takes a closer look

Going to the grocery store can be frustrating enough. But realizing the food you have bought for so long and rely on to plan meals for the week now contains less is even more frustrating.

Shrinkflation—the practice of reducing the amount of product sold while maintaining or raising the price—has hit many well-loved products on grocery store shelves. These can range from chips to paper towels and even crayons. Shoppers say their favorite products are simply getting smaller.

Not even bulk purchasing is safe, apparently.

Costco shrinkflation?

One Costco shopper says she used to purchase their packaged chicken thighs pretty frequently. However, she noticed something odd about the number that used to come in a package.

In a TikTok that has drawn over 194,000 views, user @adriana.paolella says she used to buy a package of chicken thigh cuts from Costco for the same price as it sells for now—but with roughly 10 more cuts in a package.

"This is shrinkflation," she says in the video. "No diss to Costco, I used to buy these all the time. I just want people to be aware. They used to have rows of five in each. Six rows of five, that's 30. Now we have one, two, three, four, five rows of four, that's 20. For the same price."

The Daily Dot has reached out to Costco via contact form, as well as to @adriana.paolella via TikTok direct message.

How does shrinkflation apply to products sold by weight?

You might be familiar with the concept of shrinking the package of an item and selling it for the same price as a form of shrinkflation. But what about items that are sold by weight, like chicken?

While you might think that there's some difference, as it is not sold by unit in the same way a lot of products are, it still applies. When the total weight of a product in a packaged unit goes down, but the price of that packaged unit stays the same—or goes up—the price per pound or ounce also goes up, which is shrinkflation at its core.

Has the price of chicken really increased?

The avian flu has not only caused the price of eggs to increase but the price of chicken meat as well. Prices for chicken have increased about 5%, year-over-year.

Viewers try to correct her

Some viewers were certain that the poster had it wrong—and that items sold by weight instead of volume can't be subject to shrinkflation. In practice, shrinkflation applies to both.

"So meat is sold by the weight, so not the same as shrinkflation," one commenter wrote. "I suspect sales dropped due to cost, so they made smaller packages that would be more affordable."

"I don't think you understand shrinkflation. It doesn't count for items sold by weight," another said. "It's when a fixed weight item shrinks in size while the price remains the same."

"Costco sets the weight on a tray," one commented. "It’s NOT. the processing plants fault. For example, Costco will say we want 20 pieces on a tray weighing a certain weight."

Others commented that they have also been buying the packaged chicken thigh cuts for years, and did not remember them coming in a package of 30.

"It was rows of 4 X 6," one commenter wrote. "Never 5 X 6."

"It’s based on weight & I just bought 2 packs with 5 across," another commenter wrote. "They used to be less $ for the same amount."

"We have been buying those packs for years and it's always been 4 across," a commenter wrote. "I deliberately buy packs with specific amounts, so I count them every time."

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The post ‘I just want people to be aware’: Costco shopper buys Kirkland’s chicken thigh cuts. Then she takes a closer look appeared first on The Daily Dot.

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