Costco shopper who bought Kirkland chicken thighs noticed one major problem: "They used to have..."

Rising inflation over the past few years turned regular grocery runs into an expensive affair for Americans. While inflation did cool down, consumers are still reeling from the effects of soaring costs. Amidst this crisis, most American shoppers are facing 'shrinkflation' while buying everyday essentials. One Costco shopper, Adriana Paollela (@adriana.paolella on TikTok), shared a first-hand account of her encounter with the pricing practice.

In her viral video, Paollela shared that she is a Costco member and buys all her groceries from the store. She further shared that she frequently buys the packaged chicken thighs of the store's signature brand, Kirkland, and recently noticed that something was off. 

"I just want people to be aware," she said in the beginning, before claiming that previously, the packs had five rows of five chicken thighs in the package, but now the store has reduced the quantity to four pieces in each row. 

However, the brand made this change while keeping the price the same as before. “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," she said in the video. “This is shrinkflation,” she explained further.

Shrinkflation refers to the practice of shrinking the size or weight of a packaged item while keeping the price the same. Companies use this practice to cope with high production costs, typically when inflation is high. 

But, several viewers in the comments argued that it did not apply to the item in question. "If it was 30 for $30 and now 20 for $30, that'd be shrinkflation. This is just smaller packaging to accommodate the inflation and minimize sticker shock to the consumer... paying for weight here," @gfyslibtards explained. However, the creator kept hitting back as she stood by her claim.

Many claimed that the creator had made a mistake in counting the chicken pieces. "We have been buying those packs for years, and it's always been 4 across. I deliberately buy packs with specific amounts, so I count them every time," @eastofreaden mentioned.

On the other hand, there were many who agreed with the creator. "I thought it was just me imagining that it was a lot less chicken. I bought some yesterday and it’s definitely shrunk, SHRINKFLATION is a thing!!" @mmichelle017 wrote. "Wings too. We grill them and my husband used to say he could barely fit the entire pack on his grill but now there’s a lot of extra space," @cyn_o_75 added. 

While the debate has not been settled, there is no doubt about the jump in prices of products such as eggs in the U.S. due to a nationwide shortage. Despite this, experts told USA Today that the effect is not expected to spill over in the frozen chicken market, as its price would remain relatively steady. However, due to the lack of eggs, consumers may look for other cheap forms of protein, which could lead to consumer-induced shortages of chicken, according to an expert. 

For more updates and videos, follow Adriana Paollela (@adriana.paolella) on TikTok.