SALT LAKE CITY — Utah shoppers may have noticed during recent shopping trips that the items they're buying are shrinking, while the price they pay remains the same. In economics, it's known as shrinkflation and it's becoming more obvious day by day.

Shrinkflation has become so prevalent, the term was added to the Merriam-Webster's dictionary this week.

The dictionary officially defines shrinkflation, which first popped up in 2013, as the practice of reducing a product's amount of volume per unit while continuing to offer it at the same price.

According to consumer advocate Edgar Dworsky, the term dates back even farther back in time.

"The term shrinkflation has been going on for decades," said Dworsky, founder of the Consumer World website. "The actual lore is that back in the 1950's, vending machine makers were in an uproar because the chocolate bar company said, 'We have to raise our price.'

"They said what can we do? We can't charge six cents, so someone came up with the idea to make the candy bars a little bit smaller."

Recent examples include the downsizing of certain peanut butter jars in grocery stores, and the reduction in the amount of sheets in a toilet paper roll; even the size of the cereal boxes themselves.

According to Maverik store director Mistea Spence, shrinkflation practices can also have a negative impact on store owners as well as customers.

"It affects my grocery shopping, it actually affects my everyday customers," said Spence. "We've seen a decrease in sales and customer count."

One thing Dworsky suggests customers can do is be more conscious of the amount of the products they're shopping for instead of just paying attention to the price tag.

"You can use the unit pricing, the price for ounce price per hundred on shelves to figure out [which among] the different brands and sizes is the best deal," he said.