Consumers are growing savvy to shrink flation, the practice of downsizing the contents of a product rather than raising prices. So companies are getting creative. WSJ’s Annie Gasparro explains how to spot it in all its forms. Illustration: Adele Morgan U.S. inflation surged to a new four-decade high of 8.5% in March from the same month a year ago, driven by skyrocketing energy and food costs , supply constraints and strong consumer demand. The Labor Department on Tuesday said the consumer-price index—which measures what consumers pay for goods and services —last month rose at its fastest annual pace since December 1981, up from the 7.9% annual rate in February. Rising prices have been unrelenting, with six straight months of inflation above 6% that is well above the Federal Reserve’s average 2% target. Continue reading your article with a WSJ membership View Membership Options […]