A customer has criticized Waitrose after noticing the brand’s toilet rolls have been reduced in size for six months.
leading to tiktoknovelist Alex Rushton from Walton-on-Thames shared images of the supermarket’s nine-pack of “ultra-soft toilet papers” from six months ago next to one purchased recently.
“I bought the rolls on the left six months ago, the ones on the right yesterday,” Alex wrote on TikTok.
In August, the supermarket reduced the price of the product from £5 to £4, calling it a move to help offer better value for money to customers. the shopkeeper reported. However, rather than making the product cheaper, cost cutting appears to have reduced the size of the product.
Although it still contains nine rolls, the recently purchased pack, which currently sells for £4, was noticeably smaller.
Outraged customers took to the comments section to share their opinions, with some alleging that the quality of the rolls is also different.
One said: ‘OMG yes, my mum used to buy them all the time and recently stopped doing so.’ The quality is different too!’
“I received a refund and I won’t buy them again because the quality of the paper is also inferior,” added a second
TikTok user Alex Rushton from Walton-on-Thames took to TikTok to complain about Waitrose’s toilet paper size change.
A third wrote: ‘I complained and received a gift voucher!’ A fourth said: ‘OMG I realized that too, before I thought it would last a couple of months and now it’s just a few weeks.’ Thanks for the video that explains it.’
MailOnline has contacted Waitrose for comment.
In October, a new report laid bare the true extent of “counterinflation” in the United States and the extent to which Americans are being shortchanged.
Of almost 100 everyday products analyzed by loan treefound that a third had shrunk in the past five years.
“People are already frustrated that things cost more,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree.
‘The inflationary contraction only adds salt to the wound. All of this leaves many Americans feeling pressured each month to afford the basic things they can’t do without.’
Household paper products, including toilet paper and paper towels, saw the largest size change during the period.
About 60 percent of household paper products have reduced their number of sheets, according to the study.
In a side-by-side comparison, the package from six months ago (pictured on the left) is noticeably larger compared to the recent purchase (pictured on the right)
“I bought the rolls on the left 6 months ago, the ones on the right yesterday,” Alex wrote on TikTok.
12 mega rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper decreased from 429 to 320 sheets per roll, equivalent to a 25.4 percent size reduction, the most of any product.
While the cost of 12 mega rolls of Angel Soft has dropped from $9.97 to $8.44, its price per 100 units increased from 19 cents to 22 cents, meaning consumers are paying 13.5 percent more for 100 sheets.
Another Angel Soft product, 18 Mega Rolls, was the next with the biggest change in size, shrinking 24.7 percent.
Beyond Angel Soft, Bounty Select-A-Size triple roll paper towels saw the next largest decrease in size, decreasing 18.2 percent from 165 sheets per roll to 135.
It has also increased its price from $19.88 to $22.18 during the period.
After household paper products, breakfast items were the most likely to shrink, LendingTree found.
Family-sized Frosted Flakes reduced the most cereals tested. It decreased 9.6 percent, going from 24 ounces to 21.7 ounces.
Next, family-sized Raisin Bran fell 7.9 percent, from 24 ounces to 22.1. It also saw the largest increase in price per ounce, going from 15 cents to 23 cents.
Viewers took to the comments section to share their opinions on TikTok, and many were left disappointed.
LendingTree researchers compared Walmart product prices and sizes from 2019 and 2020 through August and September 2024 to find out which items had changed the most.
Most Americans have noticed or experienced an inflationary contraction, according to the report.
About 71 percent have noted at least one incident in the past year, while 57 percent have experienced multiple incidents.
LendingTree’s Schulz said companies prefer to cut products rather than raise prices, because they know customers don’t like it when that happens.
“Contraction-flation is a small way to avoid this,” he said.
‘Instead of increasing the price of something, companies reduce the size of the product while keeping the price the same.
‘If done cleverly, customers may not even notice. However, the problem is that when they do this, the customer is left with a bad taste in their mouth because it feels very deceptive.’