Research by Barclays confirms that ‘shrinkflation’ is continuing to impact grocery shoppers, with ‘drinkflation’ also becoming an increasing factor in supermarket alcohol ranges.
A slightly higher proportion of British consumers noticed examples of shrinkflation in July (73%) compared to June (70%). Chocolate (56%), crisps (49%) and packets of biscuits (46%) remained the products most frequently cited as being impacted by the trend of reducing portion sizes but keeping prices the same or even increasing them. As a result, 21% of the shoppers who have noticed signs of shrinkflation said they are switching to brands which haven’t changed the size of their products.
Meanwhile, more than one in five consumers (22%) have noticed that some of the alcoholic drinks they buy – such as beers, spirits and tinned cocktails – contain less alcohol, yet still cost the same or more than they used to, otherwise known as drinkflation. This follows some manufacturers modifying their product’s ABV level ahead of the changes to alcohol duty introduced on 1 August, meaning that alcoholic drinks are now taxed according to strength instead of type.
Debit and card data from Barclays also showed that spending in supermarkets rose considerably less in July (5.2%) than in June (9.8%), as the rate of food price inflation continued to slow after peaking in March. However, concern around rising food prices remains high at 91%, leading to 70% of shoppers looking for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop – the highest percentage so far this year.
Of these value-seeking consumers, 13% said they are having to remove some items at the checkout to avoid going over budget. To help save money, more than a third (35%) are buying items in bulk because they cost less in the long-term, and four in 10 (41%) are shopping at multiple supermarkets to source a range of deals.
NAM Implications:
- Why the surprise?
- Given those that who survived 3.5 years of lockdown fallout have emerged super-savvy…
- …questioning everything.
- And anyone ignoring such change is putting trust in their brand at stake…
- Shrinkflat-ers beware…
