Britain’s grocery inflation falls for first time in 21 months: Kantar

BRITISH grocery inflation edged lower in November, a first decline in nearly two years, but remained near record highs, providing little relief for consumers ahead of the key Christmas trading period, industry data showed on Tuesday (Dec 6).

Market researcher Kantar said grocery inflation in the four weeks to Nov 27 was 14.6 per cent, down 0.1 percentage points from October’s record high, marking the first fall in 21 months.

“Grocery inflation still has a long way to come down though, and based on the current rate, shoppers will have to spend an extra £60 (S$99.3) in December to buy the same items as last year,” Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight said.

The cost of a traditional Christmas dinner for four has hit £31, up 9.3 per cent year-on-year, McKevitt said.

Prices are rising fastest in markets such as milk, dog food and butter, said Kantar.

It said grocery sales rose 5.9 per cent year on year in the 12 weeks to Nov 27, masking a drop in volumes once inflation is accounted for.

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It highlighted more evidence of the coping strategies shoppers are adopting to mitigate rising costs, with own-label sales now up 11.7 per cent year-on-year and sales of the cheapest value own-label lines up 46.3 per cent.

Also, German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl were yet again the fastest growing grocers with sales growth over the 12 weeks of 24.4 per cent and 22.0 per cent respectively, which also reflected the opening of new stores.

Morrisons and Waitrose were again the laggards, with sales declines of 4.7 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively. Kantar said its data did not indicate a significant boost to sales from the soccer World Cup, which started Nov 20.

Separate surveys published on Tuesday by payments processor Barclaycard and the British Retail Consortium showed spending ticked up last month at a rate that greatly lagged behind inflation, underscoring the pressure on household budgets. REUTERS