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Economists are worried not only about inflation, but also deflation, and now it appears U.S. consumers need to worry, too.

While prices for many goods are rising, in cases where prices are steady, the packaging frequently is smaller. It's an unmistakable trend for grocery shoppers these days: Every other package seemingly has a "great new look" for the "same great price."

The problem is that the new look is a few ounces smaller than the old packaging. Or there has been some other creative way to have shoppers pay the same money as always without recognizing that they are bringing less home.

Barring a change in the way packaging is regulated, consumers need to change habits -- or at least be more attentive -- to make their dollars go further and minimize the effects of this cost-inflation/product-deflation cycle.

Pinching inches

It's been particularly noticeable to me of late because my family recently switched from our preferred grocery store to a nearby competitor. With the change, we noticed that it felt as if our dollars were buying less and less.

Retail prices in the two stores are roughly the same, but we were buying less. For instance, a "half-gallon" container of orange juice from Tropicana is actually 59 ounces; a roll of toilet paper is shorter, the "new-look" salad dressing is 4 ounces smaller and so on.

Mind you, the manufacturers aren't discussing the pricing/packaging change. Tropicana is running commercials saying its packages have "16 fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each carton" -- a claim the company has made for years -- but there must be some orange deflation if the carton is about one glass of juice smaller. Tropicana cut its packaging size in response to last winter's freeze in Florida, according to Consumer Reports, after consumer research showed that people preferred to pay the same price even if it meant less juice.

That's part of the problem, because the grocery budget is not just about finances; it's about how far the products go.

"It's caveat emptor on aisle three," said Donald MacGregor of MacGregor-Bates, a Eugene, Ore., firm that does research into consumer judgment and decision making. "Consumers must realize that, as a group, they are easily manipulated, and companies are counting on that. If a company reduces the price of something by 5% but gives you 10% less, you look at the price and think you are getting a bargain, but they have increased their profit margin by 5%. It looks good to you, but you're really paying more to get less."

The manipulation involves playing with different units of measure, a problem consumers allow because they get familiar with a certain size and then assume it stays the same. Ask people in the orange juice aisle what, exactly, they are buying, and they will say "a half-gallon of orange juice," even if they are picking up a carton that holds less.