Shoppers feeling squeeze buy a little at a time

"Consumers are constraining spending to a point that shoppers only buy what they need for today or tomorrow and not next week or next month," he said.

And some grocery chains and food companies are creating new options, from milk to pies, in part to ease the financial blow. The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., is adjusting its product mix to respond to the trend.

Wal-Mart is making sure it has more smaller sizes of items like pasta, condiments like mustard as well as single rolls of toilet paper in the days before people receive government checks like Social Security and public assistance that arrive at the beginning of the month, said spokesman John Simley. But after payday, the discounter stocks up on bulk items as consumers have enough money to spring for bigger sizes that can last longer.

Kroger Co., the nation's largest traditional grocery chain, is testing 3/4 gallons of milk under its store brand -a rarity amid the usual half- and full gallon sizes -while bottlers for PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. are experimenting with a 16-ounce soda bottle as an alternative to the traditional 20-ounce size.

Sara Lee Corp. is expanding its Simple Sweets line, unveiled last year, that features 6-inch pies that sell for $2.50 to $2.99 and serve three to four. That compares to the traditional 9-inch versions sell for about $5 and serve six to eight.

"The value of not wasting is becoming more and more important," said Chuck Hemingway, marketing director of Sara Lee's food and beverage division.

Food companies say the new sizes are priced the same per ounce as the bulkier versions. However, Edgar Dworsky, the founder of Consumer World, an online consumer education guide, warns that many companies, including ice cream and margarine makers, are slimming down their products so they can pass along soaring dairy prices and other costs to shoppers.

Some food and beverage makers say the initial catalyst for offering smaller sizes was to target "empty nesters" -aging boomers whose children were leaving the home. But the harsh economy has now accelerated those plans.

Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated began replacing 20-ounce Coke bottles with 16-ounce and 24-ounce sizes last fall in 64 convenience stores in North and South Carolina as part of a move to expand shoppers' options. The 16-ounce bottles are priced at 99 cents, while the 24-ounce bottle are priced from $1.39 to $1.49. Spokesman Lauren Steele said the company, the second largest U.S. bottler for Coca-Cola, is expanding the test to 1,700 stores in the southwestern part of Virginia.

While the economy wasn't the impetus for the change, the smaller sizes are resonating with shoppers, Steele said.