Walmart shopper warns against buying a gallon of Great Value orange juice: "Don't get fooled..."

While inflation has cooled off compared to its 2022 peak, consumers are feeling the effects of a different phenomenon called 'Shrinkflation'. This is a tactic used by companies to avoid raising prices, for which they cut down the quantity of goods in a pack. Thanks to consumer awareness, Walmart products marketed under the Great Value label have come under scrutiny. One such consumer and TikToker @paw.paw33 demonstrated how the quantity of products has shrunk at Walmart, while the price remains the same, using a bottle of orange juice. 

In his now-viral clip, @paw.paw33 alleged that certain brands are manipulating packaging to misrepresent the contents to fool shoppers into buying. He shared that while recently shopping at Walmart, he noticed that there was a discount on Great Value's orange juice. Pointing at the shelf full of Great Value Orange Juice, the creator said that the brand is trying to fool people. "Look at this, people. Don’t get fooled. That, right there, is not a gallon,” he said.

He explained that the brand has been shrinking the bottles without changing the price. Providing a closer look at the bottle, the shopper pointed out that while the bottles were shaped to look like a gallon, they contained only 89 fluid ounces of juice.

He then went on to bring a true gallon of juice from the brand 'Tropicana' to show the difference. As the overlay text read “They think we don’t notice,” the creator pointed out just how small the Great Value Juice bottles were compared to the Tropicana bottle. He then explained that the true gallon contained 128 fluid ounces of juice which is significantly more than the Great Value bottles. “That’s a gallon. That’s 89 fluid ounces,” @paw.paw33 said abourlt the Tropicana and Great Value jugs respectively.

Essentially, what the creator showed was shrinkflation in action. This is the tactic where brands reduce the size of the products instead of raising prices, to help cope with rising costs.  “Come on, manufacturers. We’re not stupid," @paw.paw33 said in the end. The creator's sentiment was echoed in the comments by viewers who also noticed similar issues. "Walmart’s been doing that awhile. That’s why I quit shopping there. Very few items, even name brands are the same quantity for the price. You have to price shop to know," @1happystranger shared.

"When I worked overnight stock at Walmart I peeped this in cereal. The price is the same but almost 4oz less," @biggestoppo added. "Tropicana did the same thing with their smaller size. it was always 52 oz until one day it was 46 oz for the same price, or more," @gnostic.vibes revealed.

Walmart's Great Value isn't the only brand employing this tactic. Last year, an analysis from LendingTree found that about one-third of roughly 100 common consumer products had shrunk in size or volume since the pandemic. The products most affected were household paper products, such as toilet paper and paper towels. 

Like @paw.paw33, another creator shared similar concerns earlier this year. In her video, Melissa Simonson (@realmelissasimo) pointed out that several popular packaged food manufacturers have shrunk the number of products while keeping the prices unchanged. She claimed Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Special K cereal had significantly shrunk in size over a couple of years.

The same was true for Frito-Lay Doritos chips which the creator claimed was now slightly less than before.

For more updates and videos, follow @paw.paw33 on TikTok.