As the cost of living problem pushes up prices in stores and the economy as a whole, industry data indicates that buyers are increasingly gravitating toward cheaper goods in supermarkets.
The demand for supermarket value ranges has increased by 12 percent as grocery inflation reaches its greatest level in 13 years, according to closely monitored industry data.
In the four weeks leading up to June 12th, Kantar Worldpanel reported that like-for-like grocery prices increased at an annual pace of 8.3%, up 1.3 percentage points from the preceding period.
It cautioned that the rise in prices, in the context of a broader cost-of-living problem, meant that people faced the possibility of paying £380 more a year for groceries, as supermarkets and their supply chains contend with rising costs from items like energy and gasoline.
According to Kantar, this represents an increase of more than £100 compared to the additional amount families paid in April.
Wednesday’s release of the Office of National Statistics’ inflation numbers for May is expected to reflect the rising cost of food and other supermarket items.
Economists surveyed by the news agency Reuters anticipate a marginal increase in the annual rate from 9 percent to 9.1 percent, which would still represent a new 40-year high.
According to a May/June research by Kantar, dog food, butter, and milk costs increased the most in stores.
It was mentioned that their morale was declining.
This year, supermarket sales have mostly declined due to difficult comparisons with coronavirus restrictions in 2021, which maintained a high demand for grocery sales following the initial lockdowns in 2020.
Comparing the previous four weeks to the same period in 2021, sales increased by 0.4%.
The report attributed a portion of this surge to families and friends gathering in large numbers over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday weekend.
Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s director of retail and consumer analytics, stated: “Even with the highest grocery inflation in a decade, sales during the week of the Platinum Jubilee (ending June 5) were £87 million higher than the average for 2022.
“Despite rising living expenses, the British population embraced the jubilee spirit in typical form. Compared to the average week in 2022, sales of alcoholic beverages climbed by a third, and purchases of ice cream rose by 35 percent.
“Many individuals attempted the official Jubilee pudding, lemon Swiss roll, and amaretti trifle, and sales of lemon curd, fresh cream, Swiss rolls, and custard increased by 16 percent, 58 percent, 18 percent, and 9 percent, respectively”.
Inflationary pressures on households, he said, continue to push more individuals toward bargain brands, with Lidl leading the way in terms of market share increase.
“Shoppers have substituted own-label products for brand-name ones, which have decreased by 1%,” he said.
The impressive successes of Aldi and Lidl, both of which have significant own-label selections, have contributed to the 2.9% increase in sales of these frequently less expensive brands.
“Consumers are also gravitating to value ranges such as ASDA Smart Price, Co-op Honest Value, and Sainsbury’s Imperfectly Tasty to save money, and all value own-label lines climbed by 12.0 percent”.
