UK food inflation soaring

UK food prices have spiked to the highest rate in fourteen years, London-based consulting company Kantar said in a study published on Tuesday. Britain’s grocery inflation hit 14.7% in October, according to the report.

“Yet again, we have a new record high figure for grocery price inflation and it’s too early right now to call the top,” Kantar said. “Consumers face a £682 ($785) jump in their annual grocery bill if they continue to buy the same items and just over a quarter of all households [27%] now say they’re struggling financially, which is double the proportion we recorded last November,” it added.

Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt pointed out that “Nine in ten of this group say higher food and drink prices are a major concern, second only to energy bills, so it’s clear just how much grocery inflation is hitting people’s wallets and adding to their domestic worries.” 

The report highlighted that grocery sales soared by 5.2% on a value basis year-on-year in the twelve weeks to October 30. Sales of own-label goods, which are generally cheaper than branded goods, surged 10.3% over the four weeks to October 30, while sales of branded goods rose 0.4%. Sales of the cheapest own-label ranges soared by a staggering 42%, as shoppers sought savings.

Kantar also reported that fewer people were stocking their cupboards for Christmas in October, instead preferring to wait until later in the year. “This time last year two million consumers had already bought their festive Christmas pudding. We’ve seen 32% fewer shoppers doing that this time around, suggesting people are not trying to spread the cost of their purchasing – at least not in October,” it said.

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