Grocery price inflation drops sharply to 12.7 per cent
Grocery price inflation saw its second sharpest fall since 2008, falling 2.2 percentage points to 12.7 per cent for the four weeks to 6 August, new data shows.
While food prices are still rising, some goods actually became cheaper, with shoppers paying £1.50 for four pints of milk, down from £1.69 in March, and a litre of sunflower oil is now 22 pence cheaper than it was in the spring, according to analysis from Kantar.
While still high, it will be welcome news for shoppers that the rate of increase is slowing, who have been battling extortionate prices at the till since the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent energy, grain and fertilizer costs soaring.
The data comes ahead of July’s inflation figures on Wednesday, with experts predicting the headline rate of inflation will fall to 6.7 per cent, from 7.9 per cent last month.
However, shoppers still showed signs of favouring discount grocers, with Aldi the fastest growing retailer for the fourth month in a row, with sales increasing by 21.2 per cent versus 2022. The value grocer now has a market share of 10.2 per cent, a rise of 1.1 percentage points year on year.
But ‘Big Four’ supermarket Tesco remained at the top, holding 27 per cent of the market, followed by rival Sainsbury’s with a 14.8 per cent share.
While customers have been spending less, an unusually damp July and early August has sent shoppers seeking out warmer meals such as soup and roast dinners.
Kantar also reported that sales of summer staples were down on this time last year, with ice cream sales and soft drink sales down 30 per cent and nearly 25 per cent respectively.
Cooler temperatures and a wetter than average month may have also put people off from venturing to the shops, Kantar said, as footfall in the UK’s supermarkets dropped for the first time in 18 months.