Shrinkflation rarely shows up on the price tag. The price stays at €2.49, but the pack goes from 500 g to 450 g. That is an 11.1% price rise per kilogram, and the only clue is a small number on the label.
Here is a simple routine for spotting it when you shop online at Lidl or Carrefour, plus a free tool that does the boring part for you.
1. Compare the price per kg or litre, not the pack price
EU shops must show a unit price next to the selling price (Directive 98/6/EC). On Lidl it usually appears under the price as "1 kg = 7.12 €". On Carrefour France it sits near the price as "€/kg" or "€/L".
The unit price is the only fair way to compare a 450 g pack with a 500 g one. If it is missing, divide the price by the pack size yourself: €2.49 / 0.45 kg = €5.53 per kg.
2. Watch multipacks
"6 x 1 l" or "4 x 125 g" packs are where mistakes happen. Check that the unit price uses the total size (6 l, 500 g), not a single item.
3. Remember what the pack used to be
This is the hard part. Neither shop tells you that the same product was bigger last month. You either remember it or you keep notes.
4. Let your browser remember for you
ShrinkWatch EU is a free, open-source extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox. On a product page it:
- shows the unit price in a small badge, worked out from the price and pack size,
- cross-checks the shop's own unit price and shows it when the two disagree,
- saves the pack size locally and warns you if the same product comes back smaller.
It was checked in a real desktop Chrome on Lidl in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands, and on Carrefour in France, Spain, Belgium and Poland. Lidl Germany works right after install; for the other sites you click "Enable on this shop" once in the popup. Some examples from those checks:
- lidl.fr, olive oil 1.5 l: €5.66 / l, matching the shop's own figure
- lidl.it, butter 125 g: €7.12 / kg
- carrefour.fr, 1 l of milk: €1.26 / l
- carrefour.pl, 1 l of milk: 4.49 zł / l
If a page prints the pack size only on the product photo, the badge shows the price and says the pack size is missing, so you know to check the label.
Privacy
No account, no analytics, no network requests. Prices and pack sizes stay in your browser.
Try it
- Install steps: https://emirmrkaljevic.github.io/shrinkwatch-eu/#install
- Lidl guide: https://emirmrkaljevic.github.io/shrinkwatch-eu/shops/lidl.html
- Carrefour guide: https://emirmrkaljevic.github.io/shrinkwatch-eu/shops/carrefour.html
- Source and issues: https://github.com/emirmrkaljevic/shrinkwatch-eu
Found a product with a wrong figure? Open an issue with the link and it will be fixed.
This post was written with AI assistance and checked by me against the extension running on the shops.
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