French supermarkets have to inform shoppers about shrinkflation

From 1 July, supermarkets in France will have to alert customers to instances of so-called “shrinkflation”, when retailers or manufacturers make their products smaller without reducing the price.

For food and non-food

When a product decreases in size or weight while the price remains the same or even increases, French supermarkets will have to communicate about this clearly for two months. “The indication must specify the evolution of the price in relation to the weight, so that the consumer knows the real price evolution”, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a press release. The obligation takes effect from 1 July and will apply to both food and non-food products.

Last year, Carrefour already did a similar thing out of its own initiative, labelling products of major brands with a message like “This product has seen its weight decrease and the price charged by our supplier increase“. CEO Alexandre Bompard said he wanted to better inform consumers about a practice he said was “unacceptable”. However, the supermarket chain was also itself accused of shrinkflation after a pack of potatoes went from 1.5 kilograms to 1 kilogram to maintain a retail price of 99 cents.