"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-06-29T12:02:14Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/06/27/buy-now-pay-later-zw-orig.cnn-business"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="buy now pay later zw orig"
data-first-publish-slug="buy now pay later zw orig"
data-video-tags="banking, finance and investments,business, economy and trade,consumer loans and credit,personal debt and bankruptcy,personal finance"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Young shoppers love buy now, pay later. Here's why that might be a problem
"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-06-22T00:45:34Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/media/2022/06/22/zuckerberg-meta-avatar-fashion-moos-pkg-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="zuckerberg meta avatar fashion moos pkg vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="zuckerberg meta avatar fashion moos pkg vpx"
data-video-tags="arts and entertainment,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,electronic commerce,fashion design,internet retailing,jeanne moos,misc people,online and home shopping,retail and wholesale trade,specialty store"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Meta launches online store to purchase clothes for your avatar
"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-06-09T12:47:28Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/06/06/fresh-money-lug-bags-orig.cnn"
data-branding-key="fresh-money"
data-video-slug="fresh money lug bags orig"
data-first-publish-slug="fresh money lug bags orig"
data-video-tags="business, economy and trade,business and industry sectors,retail and wholesale trade,online and home shopping,economy and economic indicators,economic indicators,consumer behavior,companies,qurate retail group,qvc,company activities and management,computer science and information technology,mobile apps,mobile technology,new products,product management,software and applications,technology"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
The story behind the bag that sold out in 2 minutes
"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-06-03T21:45:47Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/06/03/queen-elizabeth-platinum-jubilee-business-profits-uk-moet-hennessy-champagne-qmb-vpx.cnnbusiness"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="queen elizabeth platinum jubilee business profits uk moet hennessy champagne qmb vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="queen elizabeth platinum jubilee business profits uk moet hennessy champagne qmb vpx"
data-video-tags="alcoholic beverages,beverages,british royal family,business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,celebrities,companies,consumer products,continents and regions,europe,food and drink,kinds of foods and beverages,lvmh,misc people,northern europe,queen elizabeth ii,united kingdom"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Here's how much businesses are raking in from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-05-09T20:18:53Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/05/09/facebook-meta-first-physical-retail-store-orig-ht.cnn-business"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="Facebook meta first physical retail store orig ht"
data-first-publish-slug="Facebook meta first physical retail store orig ht"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,california,companies,company activities and management,company structure and ownership,computer science and information technology,continents and regions,facebook,north america,retail and wholesale trade,software and applications,southwestern united states,technology,the americas,united states,virtual reality"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
Facebook's parent company has a brick and mortar store. See what's inside
"
data-timestamp-html=""
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2022-03-12T02:36:54Z"
data-video-section="business"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2022/03/11/walgreens-cooler-screens-reaction-ht-orig.cnn-business"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="Walgreens Cooler Screens reaction ht orig"
data-first-publish-slug="Walgreens Cooler Screens reaction ht orig"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,companies,internet and www,marketing and advertising,marketing and advertising channels,social media,social media marketing,technology,walgreens"
data-details="">
Video Ad Feedback
New tech in Walgreens brings mixed reactions, confusion online
03:33
Now playing
- Source:
CNN Business
New YorkCNNBusiness
—
Shoppers aren’t imagining it.
If you’ve noticed that products you’ve recently purchased are coming in boxes, cartons and other packaging that appear smaller, lighter in weight and decorated with less flashy colors, it’s because they actually are.
What gives?
Just as inflation hitting a 40-year high is forcing households to pay more for everyday purchases, companies that make those products are having to spend much more on production and packaging for items such as lipstick, breakfast cereals, cookies and toys.
Industry experts say tweaking packaging is one way that businesses are trying to control costs.
“Packaging changes are being driven both by inflation and supply chain disruptions,” said Lisa Pruett, president of RRD Packaging Solutions, a leading provider of paper packaging products and printing and marketing services for over 90% of Fortune 100 brands across industries, including grocery, cosmetics and healthcare.
She said as many as 81% of RRD’s clients have made changes to their packaging in some way over the past year.
Brands, responding to inflation and supply chain disruptions, are downsizing product packaging as a way to trim costs. One example: shorter flaps.
Courtesy RRD
Product downsizing, also known as “shrinkflation,” is when items such as toilet paper rolls or the number of cookies in a container start shrinking in size or quantity — or both — because of rising costs.
But brands are also cutting costs in other ways and without necessarily reducing the quantity of the product in the can or box, Pruett said.
Color changes, smaller flaps, thinner boxes
In product packaging, using one color palette over another can impact costs, said Pruett.
For example, the inside of a box holding a new lipstick tends to be white because the color conveys a more chic and upscale feel.
But the white “substrate,” or surface of the paper packaging, is typically 20% to 30% costlier than opting for gray or brown paper made from recycled packaging material.
Brands are also switching to lower-cost recycled materials and removing extra frills on the outside of packaging to keep costs down.
Courtesy RRD
Responding to inflationary pressures, shoppers, “might see brown or gray going forward as brands embrace lower cost and more sustainable options, like recycled paper,” Pruett said.
Pruett also pointed to a large medical device maker that has switched to a paper sleeve insert instead of a plastic one to hold the product, which is both cheaper and more environmentally friendly. She declined to name the brand, citing confidentiality agreements.
Then there are some subtler packaging tweaks rolling out into grocery stores that will likely fly under the radar.
“Flaps on the top of boxes are getting shorter, or the box itself is thinner,” said Pruett. “Two years ago these changes may have been minor. Now they are increasingly impactful to companies.”