Australian families can expect to pay heftier prices this Easter due to the ‘shrinkflation’ of Easter eggs.

Shrinkflation is when there is a a rise in the price of a product according to weight or size, but with a reduction in the actual weight, meaning the price of the product remains the same even thought the actual amount is less.

A CHOICE investigation revealed chocolate treats from brands such as Cadbury and Nestle have decreased in size from last year, but also become more expensive.

Several examples include a 24-pack of Cadbury Dairy Milk Hollow Chocolate Eggs, which last year retailed for $12.50 and has now increased to $15, with the new version containing 22 eggs.

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Deluxe Egg has remained at $20 since last Easter, but has shrunk from 400g to 340g.

CHOICE journalist Liam Murphy says the shrinkflation of Easter eggs is due to the increased price of cocoa and the rise in overhead costs for chocolate manufacturers.

“The price of cocoa has been pretty volatile the last year and a half or so,” he says.

“It’s not just down to cocoa, that’s definitely the main reason that’s been put forth by experts watching the space but also the chocolate manufacturers themselves.

“They [chocolate manufacturers] also mentioned other overhead costs like general inputs that go into making the product.”

The price of cocoa has risen due to a global shortage, with disease, climate change and harsh weather conditions ravaging crops in West Africa, where 70 per cent of the world’s cocoa is produced.

Mr Murphy says consumers are unlikely to spot the rise in price because of the rush to buy products before they sell out.

“With chocolate Easter eggs this time of year these are things we feel obliged by as we’re often going in trying to grab them before they sell out on top of the time pressure to get them,” he says.

“We’re probably not noticing they have been ‘shrinkflated’ because we’re getting them quickly, but we are also not buying them all the time.”

Mr Murphy says with Easter being a yearly holiday, companies can get away with making products smaller or raising the price, as consumers aren’t likely to remember the cost of Easter eggs from the previous year.

“These products only appear on our shelves once every year so it’s very unlikely people would be noticing that they’ve shrunk,” he says.

“It’s a pretty subtle manoeuvre from companies and that’s kind of the point, it’s meant to be a way of passing on their rising overhead costs without bumping up the price which everyone notices straight away.

“When you shrink the size of a product it can give you the same end result without driving consumers away.”

He says although shrinkflation is hard to spot, there are ways consumers can see if the products they’re buying have shrunk in size.

University of New South Wales Associate Dean and consumer behaviour researcher Professor Nitika Garg says there are simple things shoppers can do to ensure they’re getting the best deal.

“I think the best advice for consumers would be to try and compare unit prices across different products to see how much, let’s say 100g of chocolate, is costing you for brand ‘x’ versus brand ‘y’ and then see which one is giving you a better deal,” she says.

“Checking the unit price instead of getting seduced by the sign of a deal on a package or the brand name in this instance might be a better idea.”

Professor Garg says Easter egg sales have increased this year due to people wanting to have something to celebrate during a cost-of-living crisis.

“I don’t think we’ll see an overall drop in the sales of Easter eggs because it probably won’t be something that consumers think about cutting, especially since it’s a children’s product and people don’t want to skimp on that unless they’re absolutely strapped,” she says.

“It’s an interesting paradox, on the one hand we have the cost-of-living crisis and people are obviously struggling and cutting big budget items like travel overseas or big expenses, but based on some data I’ve seeing coming in, people are actually spending a lot more on Easter this year then they have in the past.

“I think that’s partly because it’s like the psychology of, O.K. I can’t do the big things, let me at least have fun with this holiday.”

She says although people are struggling due to the cost-of-living crisis, Easter offers the chance for families to get together and celebrate.

“It is a difficult time but I think consumers to a particular extent, are trying to get the most out of the situation as much as they can because at least this is something they can do and celebrate with the kids and it can be fun,” she says.

 “Keeping in mind while shrinkflation in general is not something that we think retailers or manufacturers should engage in, this is probably one of those situations where part of the increase in prices and reduction in quantities is out of their hands because the cost of the supply side has increased.”