UK grocery price inflation eases to lowest since October 2021 - Kantar

UK grocery price inflation fell for the fifteenth month in a row in the four weeks to 12 May, to 2.4%, its lowest level since October 2021, according to data released on Tuesday by Kantar.

This was down from 3.2% in the previous four-week period. Grocery price inflation is now just 0.8 percentage points higher than the 10-year average of 1.6% between 2012 and 2021, which is just before prices began to climb.

The figures also showed that take-home grocery sales rose by 2.9% over the four weeks.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: "Typically, an inflation rate of around 3% is when we start to see marked changes in consumers’ behaviour, with shoppers trading down to cheaper items when the rate goes above this line and vice versa when the rate drops.

"However, after nearly two and a half years of rapidly rising prices, it could take a bit longer for shoppers to unwind the habits they have learnt to help them manage the cost of living crisis. Own-label lines are proving resilient, for example, and they are still growing faster than brands, making up over half (52%) of total spending. Sales of premium own label ranges continue to increase too, up by 9.9% compared with a year ago."

In the 12 weeks to 12 May, Ocado was once again the fastest-growing grocer, with sales up 12.4% - well ahead of the total online market, which saw sales rise 5.4%.