Assessing Consumers' Perception of Shrinkflation in Nigeria and its Implication for Sustainable Development

We live in a society where people pay more to get less for most of theconsumables, this has had a major impact on household poverty in Nigeria inrecent times where you have to pay more to still get a lower quantity of anitem. The study assessed the perception of consumers towards shrinkflationin Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study, (a) to know if theconcept of shrinkflation exists in Nigeria and (b) to know if age and jobstatus will affect their perception of shrinkflation. The study selected N=330adults from Lagos Central Senatorial District of Lagos state. The participantswere all adults in schools, formal sector, and informal sectors in Lagos. Thestudy used already standardized Shrinkflation Awareness Scale by Mbewu toexplore the variables. The data collected was analyzed with SPSS v29, withdescriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics showed thatpeople are aware of the downsizing of consumables and a large numberagreed that it is a deceptive business practice to cheat the consumers. Thedemographic variables were not significant thus implying that all ages and allthe sectors are feeling the effects of shrinkflation. The study concluded thatthe effect of the inflation that is currently affecting Nigeria is affecting andincreasing poverty level because the cost of items is increasing yet thequantity is also reducing. The study recommended that the governmentshould ensure that regulatory agencies play their roles in supervising theactivities of the manufacturers to promote the development of Nigeria.