Food prices fall to record low in September, BRC reveals

Food prices fell to a record low in September as the supermarket price war continued to rage on, according to the British Retail Consortium on Wednesday.

The cost of food items dropped 1.3% year-on-year in September compared to 1.1% in August as the UK’s largest supermarkets battled against fierce competition from discounters including Lidl and Aldi.

"With a new round price cuts by supermarkets in September and fresh foods also promoted to encourage visits, this has helped maintain deflation in shop prices,” said Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen.

The BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index also showed shoppers enjoyed a 1.8% drop in retail prices in September, compared to a 2% fall in August.

While food contributed to the deflation, non-food items were the biggest driver with shop prices falling 2.1% in September following a 2.5% decline in August.

"We are now in the fourth year of falling shop prices, so the record-setting run of shop price deflation continues, which is great news for consumers,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC.

"This is as a direct result of the intense competition and transformational change in the retail industry, with consumers having access to more choices and greater ability to compare prices than ever before."