Grocery price inflation slows down ahead of Christmas

The rate of supermarket price increases has slowed down as retailers gear up for the Christmas period.

New figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show that prices in October were 4.7% higher than they were a year earlier.

But that’s down from 5.2% in September, a sign perhaps that supermarkets are trying to keep prices down as the festive shopping season approaches.

Customers taking advantage of deals

Spending on deals went up by 9.4% and accounted for almost a third of all grocery purchases.

By contrast, spending on full-priced items increased by only 1.8%.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, predicts that spending on deals will “go even higher as we get closer to Christmas”.

“The race to the big day is on in the supermarket sector,” he said.

“Retailers are very alive to the financial struggles that some households are facing, not least ahead of this year’s Budget.

“They’re eager to show how they’re offering shoppers value for money, putting the emphasis on price cuts rather than multibuy offers.”

Shoppers looking beyond bargain prices

While low prices are important to shoppers, they’re not the only factor they’re weighing up in the supermarket.

Worldpanel is predicting that sales for premium line products will reach a record high this year - potentially exceeding £1bn in December.

“Shoppers often look for great value and quality, not just the cheapest product,” said Mr McKevitt.

“At Christmas especially, people want to treat themselves.

“And throughout the cost-of-living crisis, we’ve seen them turning to retailers’ premium own label lines to do that in a way that’s more affordable.”

Shop around

If you’re struggling with the cost of your groceries, or simply want to save a bit money, it’s always a good idea to shop around.

After all, the same items can often cost very different amounts, depending on where you shop.

Lidl was recently named the cheapest supermarket by Which?, based on a comparison of the prices of 70 popular grocery items, ahead of the likes of Aldi, Asda and Tesco.

So if you’re in the habit of sticking to the same supermarket, it’s well worth mixing it up a little and seeing what good offers are out there.