Coffee pods make their way into inflation basket

Britain’s love affair with coffee was apparent in the latest changes to the basket of goods and services used by the Office for National Statistics to calculate inflation.

The ONS said on Tuesday that coffee pods have been added to the basket as coffee machines grow in popularity, along with cream liqueur such as Baileys.

Meanwhile, night club entry fees have been removed from the basket as part of the annual review as the number of clubs and those charging entry decline.

CPI statistician Phil Gooding said: “With the number of night clubs charging entry declining, we can no longer justify keeping these fees in the basket.”

CD Roms and rewritable DVDs also dropped out of the basket, reflecting the move away from physical media towards downloadable files.

Computer software, such as for word processing, antivirus or web design, and downloaded computer games have been added to the basket.

The new basket features 704 items, of which 15 are new this year.

David McCorquodale, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: “The ONS basket of goods and services offers an interesting snapshot of the modern day British consumer and factors that influence spending patterns. As in previous years, advances in technology, the latest fads and trends, and the weather all seem to have affected purchasing decisions.”