That answers my earlier question around what happens if the price stays same when say a box of 18 oz of cornflakes at $4.00 suddenly becomes a 16 oz box that costs $4.00 The problem I have now is that this practice is increasingly rampant in all aspects of retail.
When doing the math, this "cornflake like event" in turn means that a new readjusted baseline has to be established with no net impact on inflation stats.
Sneaky way to hide inflation IMO.
No go back an re-read the italicizes part. They make statistical adjustments to the data for exactly the reason you claim.
That's called shrinkflation. It is rampant in the food industry.