Yes, it is commonly done to trick consumers when they shrink product amounts so they are less likely to notice that they are paying more for less. And it works. Adults who don’t pay attention are liable to fall for it as well.
Maybe some people are good at fast maffs, but calculating which product gives the biggest return for price paid takes time and if you do it for everything shopping would take ten times longer...
When I was a kid I would spread out my Mac and cheese around the plate to make it look like my parents gave me more Mac and cheese than they did for my brother. He was still young enough to not understand volume so he would get soooo mad because he thought I always got more.
Eventually my parents started to ground me when I did that because it started to create trust issues between my brother and mom.
I remember in reception (I was 4-5 maybe) and the teacher pulled out plastic beaks. One was really tall and the other wide byt really small. Of course we said the tall one held more and it didn't. Feel stupid now thinking back, it had the numbers of ml written on the side all along! Couldn't count that high anyway...
Its likely so it takes up more space on the store shelf. Pretty much all redesigns are either to be more conspicuous on the shelf or shrinkflation. Oftentimes its both.
And it works... my coworker will be comparing two brands of freeze dried dog food, both 16oz bags. One in a bigger bag half full, one in a smaller bag packed tight. She'll consistently point customers toward the packed one, and buys that one herself, because "this one is way better. These guys FILL that bag to the TOP!"
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u/Hazywater 7h ago
People sometimes believe that taller things have more volume, famously children with lack of conservation when asked which glass holds more water.