Consumerists, I think we’ve been wrong about this Grocery Shrink Ray thing all along. We’ve long believed that companies deploy the Grocery Shrink Ray to imperceptibly decrease the amount of product in a package without customers noticing. But maybe–just maybe–there’s a higher purpose. Maybe they’re trying to save us from consuming a precious few calories and use social engineering to get us to snack less over time until at some point we’re hardly snacking at all. Consider this exhibit: the shrinking Double Gulp cups at Chris’s local 7-11 in Maryland.

It appears that the local 7-11 I’ve been going to for some time has employed the good old Grocery Shrink Ray on their “Double Gulp” brand of Fountain Sodas. I have been getting them there since they where originally put out in the heavy Wax paper folding cups and they have 64 ounces of liquid for a long time.

The new cups, pictured in the examples I’ve sent, are very pretty looking with the see-through plastic but are CLEARLY much smaller then the original cups. I do not have an exact fluid ounce on the new cups because they are not labeled like the old cups have been. The price however still remains the same for less liquid refreshment as I’ve also
attached from my Cellphone.

I hope the information is useful, I love it when places do this and think no one will notice. Great way to save money, same price, less drink!

Keep up the excellent work and fighting the good fight!

On the other hand, this theory doesn’t account for diet soda. So maybe it’s that “profits” thing after all.

UPDATE: Reader fantomesq noticed that this might be a popular topic, since it’s an entire category on 7-11’s complaint page.

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