Shop price drop accelerates in September, BRC says

Deflation tightened its grip on the High Street in September, according to one of the most widely followed sector surveys.

Last month, shop prices in the UK fell by 1.9% year-on-year, according to the British Retail Consortium, after having fallen by 1.4% in the month before.

Declines were mainly the result of competition and great deals across a large number of categories, BRC said.

“It was a particularly good month to hunt for bargains in clothing and footwear with prices falling by 6% in this category.

“While consumer confidence slowed slightly the fortuitous mix of near flat inflation and falling prices in both food and non-food will help to maintain retailers confidence for the foreseeable future,”

Food prices fell into negative territory again in September, sliding by 0.5% on the year after advancing at a clip of just 0.2% in the month before.

Non-food prices were also lower, with the rate of decline accelerating to 2.9% year-on-year from 2.4% in the month before.