UK grocery inflation touched 9.9 per cent in the four weeks to July 10, adding 454 pounds ($543.7) to Britons’ annual bills as the cost of living crisis worsened, according to industry figures released on Tuesday.

Kantar said the inflation rate was the second highest it had recorded since it began tracking grocery prices in this manner in 2008.

“We’re likely to surpass the previous high come August,” warned Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight.

According to the researcher, the fastest rising prices are in markets such as dog food, butter, and milk.

According to some projections, food inflation could reach 15 per cent this summer and 20 per cent early next year. Kantar said Tesco’s value sales gained 0.1 per cent in the 12 weeks to July 10, but declined at Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons as customers shifted to German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Lidl was the fastest growing grocer in the UK during the past 12 weeks, with sales increasing 13.9 per cent, while Aldi’s increased 11.3 per cent.

Both achieved record market shares, with Lidl at 7.0 per cent and Aldi at 9.1 per cent – just 0.3 per cent behind Britain’s No. 4 retailer, Morrisons.

“Over 67% of people in Britain shopped in either an Aldi or a Lidl in the past 12 weeks, with 1.4 million additional households visiting at least one of the discounters in the latest three months compared with last year,” said McKevitt.

According to Kantar, as prices rise, Britons are increasingly turning to own-label products to reduce the cost of their weekly buy. Over the past 12 weeks, sales of supermarkets’ own lines increased by 4.1 per cent, while sales of branded items decreased by 2.4 per cent.

Faced with the most difficult economic conditions in decades, Britain’s food retailers are keeping a closer eye on each other’s prices than ever before. more info

Kantar data also showed Britons preparing for the current hot wave, with sales of ice cream and suncare goods increasing by 14% and 66%, respectively, during the last four weeks.

Total UK supermarket sales increased by 0.1 per cent for the 12-week period, marking the first time the market has grown since April 2021.

(Adapted from ARYNews.tv)

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