Despite food price inflation starting to ease, shoppers in the UK feel that price pressure is not letting up on their grocery shops, with some estimating their food bills remain a third higher than last year,
Last week, the latest BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index showed food prices had dropped on the previous month for the first time in over two years amid fierce competition between retailers. This brought year-on-year food inflation down to single digits and contributed to the fifth consecutive monthly fall in the headline rate, helped by easing cost pressures.
However, recent consumer research by shelf-edge automation firm Pricer shows that UK shoppers feel that proportionately, their average food bills have increased by 33% in the last 12 months.
Latest data from the Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) also showed that half (49%) of UK shoppers were spending more than usual to get what they normally buy when food shopping, while 4 in 10 (46%) were buying less food when grocery shopping in September due to rising costs. Additionally, a poll of over 1,000 UK consumers by Retail Insight revealed that, with the average household now spending £87 on groceries each week, 82% are trying to reduce food bills in response to the rising cost of living, up 16% year-on-year.
Peter Ward, country manager for UK & Ireland at Pricer, commented: “While everyone is hoping that this first fall in food price inflation in two years will mark the ‘beginning of the end’ of sticky and stubbornly high grocery prices, the impact on shoppers’ purse strings won’t be immediate.
“Even though the rate of inflation on food prices has fallen, it does not mean prices are necessarily coming down, just that they are rising less quickly. And this, means pressure on consumers’ weekly food shops will continue for some time yet to come.”
Pricer’s study also showed that 85% of shoppers felt retailers should be doing more to ensure customers can access the best deals during the cost-of-living crisis. And a further 86% said that retailers should do more to ensure price cuts and promotions are implemented as quickly as possible.
