A man’s birthday gesture for his wife ended in a shocking surprise. Not only did he give her the same Hallmark birthday card two years in a row, but this year’s card is smaller. It also costs more.
In a TikTok with over 638,000 views as of Sunday morning, TikToker Katie Ann (@katieturnner) breaks down the scenario.
“I don’t know what’s worse: my dad giving my mom the same birthday card two years in a row or Hallmark reducing the size of the card and increasing the price?” the first photo reads.
The following photo shows the two cards next to each other, labeled “last year” and “this year”, with the “this year” card being noticeably smaller than the previous year’s card.
Katie Ann then points out the prices on the back of the cards. Last year’s card is marked at $6.59 while this year’s card has a higher price of $6.99.
The last photo slide is of Katie Ann’s father with an attributed quote: “That was a year ago, how am I supposed to remember?”
The rise of shrinkflation
In the comments section, users defended Katie Ann’s father and shared their own frustrations with inflation.
“At least he’s consistent,” joked one viewer.
“I work at Hallmark and we are currently experiencing an epidemic of shrinking cards, they need to stop,” shared another user.
“I bought a card at Target a few weeks ago and didn’t realize until I looked at my receipt that it was TEN DOLLARS… what?!” another commented.
“In his defense, I don’t remember either,” one user began, adding a laughing face emoji, “but shrinkflation is crazy.”
“So you don’t buy your cards at Dollar Tree?” another asked.
“Shrinkflation on a piece of paper is crazy,” another user simply wrote.
What is shrinkflation?
Shrinkflation is when companies reduce the size of their products while maintaining the same or even increasing the price. This practice has occurred in many industries in the form of thinner containers, smaller bottles, and reduced quantities of a product. Companies are looking to increase their profits while consumers are actually paying more for less.
The Daily Dot has previously reported on shrinkage, including a woman who noticed her bottle of Tropicana apple juice was now smaller but cost the same, a woman who claims Tampax tampons have shrunk, and TikTok food critic Keith Lee lamenting Chipotle’s smaller food portions.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Katie Ann via email and Hallmark via email for further information.
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