[News Terms] 'Skeumplaytion' Reducing Quality and Cutting Services

As high inflation persists, following 'shrinkflation,' which reduces size and weight while keeping prices the same, a new phenomenon called 'skimpflation' has emerged, where product quality or services are downgraded.

Skimpflation is a compound word combining 'skimp,' meaning to be stingy, and 'inflation,' referring to rising prices. It describes a situation where prices increase, but the quality of goods or services actually declines. Examples of skimpflation include using cheaper raw materials to reduce costs while maintaining the same product size or volume, or excessively long delivery times despite placing an order.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho visited the Emart Yongsan store in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 14th to check prices. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Consumers usually find it harder to notice a reduction in product quantity than a price increase, and it is even more difficult to detect a decline in product quality. For this reason, skimpflation is called the most cunning 'trick' inflation.

For instance, Lotte Chilsung Beverage significantly lowered the juice content in Del Monte orange juice after the price of orange juice concentrate rose. The original 100% orange juice product had an 80% juice content, which was reduced to 45%. The chicken brand BBQ also replaced half of its frying oil with cheaper sunflower oil starting last month. Previously, they used only '100% extra virgin olive oil' and promoted this fact, but due to the sharp rise in olive oil prices, they now use a 'blended oil' consisting of 50% olive oil and 50% sunflower oil.

Such skimpflation has also sparked controversy overseas. In Canada, Quaker replaced the cocoa butter coating on its granola chocolate bars with cheaper palm oil. The UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's reduced the olive oil content in its olive spread from 21% to 10%. Another supermarket, Morrisons, adjusted the avocado content in its guacamole product from 80% to 77%. Disneyland in the United States faced criticism for prioritizing profits over customer convenience by discontinuing the tram service that ran nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) from the parking lot to the entrance.

While skimpflation may benefit companies in the short term, there are concerns that it could lead to consumer distrust and caution in the long run, resulting in a contraction of consumer sentiment.

On the 16th, Jeong Hwang-geun, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, responded to criticisms that food raw material prices are falling while product prices are rising, stating, "When wheat prices more than doubled, companies raised prices significantly, but now that wheat prices have dropped considerably, prices have not come down." He also pressured the food industry regarding skimpflation, where companies reduce product or service quality to maintain profits, saying, "Can companies that do that survive?" and added, "We will demand the industry to enhance consumer rights."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.