UK grocery prices rise at fastest pace in eight years, data shows | Supermarkets

Food prices rose at their fastest pace in more than eight years in February, according to market analysts Kantar, who predicted pressure on buyers would continue due to supply chain disruption and the conflict in Ukraine.

Food price inflation hit 4.3% last month, the highest since September 2013, with the price of salty snacks, fresh beef and cat food rising the fastest. However, the cost of some products, including bacon, beer and spirits, has fallen.

UK households are grappling with a cost of living crisis, after the annual inflation rate hit 5.5% in January – a nearly 30-year high. Even before Russia invaded Ukraine, economists predicted more pain in April when household energy bills soared.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insights at Kantar, said: “Aside from the onset of the pandemic, when grocers halted promotional offers to maintain availability, this is the rate of fastest inflation we have seen since September 2013.

“On top of that, continued supply chain pressures and the potential impact of conflict in Ukraine are expected to continue to drive up prices paid by consumers.”

Rising prices and the end of Covid restrictions in England impacted consumer behavior, data shows, as shoppers chose more own-brand products than branded items for the first time in three month.

Aldi and Lidl enjoyed more visits to their stores and were the fastest growing retailers in the 12 weeks to February 20. Their sales increased by 3.3%; 1.3 million more customers shopped at Aldi compared to 2021, while almost a million more people visited Lidl.

Lidl’s increased sales saw it overtake Co-op to become the UK’s sixth largest grocer, meaning the two discounters were now among the top six supermarkets, behind Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons .

Overall supermarket sales fell last month and households spent an average of £26.07 less at grocers as the economy began to open up after the pandemic and consumers started buying again more food on the go, buying sandwiches or snacks for their lunch break, or enjoying meals in restaurants and cafes. As a result, shoppers were filling their carts with fewer items to consume at home.

Despite this trend, the sales of the biggest grocers were higher than before the Covid crisis.

McKevitt said: “Supermarkets with a strong takeaway offer will have had an extra boost not reflected in the numbers as people bought sandwiches, snacks and drinks on the go. “,

The return to work and socializing after Covid had led to more consumers returning to supermarkets. Kantar reported that online grocery sales fell 20% in February from a year earlier, with 835,000 fewer people buying groceries online.

However, bad weather, including storms Dudley and Eunice, which hit the UK in February, kept many customers away from stores, and there were nearly 7 million fewer shopping trips during the week ending February 20.

On February 18, when a rare red weather warning meant people in Wales and south-west England were told to stay home, Kantar reported a 25% drop in attendance from the same day in 2021, when many schools, businesses and stations were closed across the UK.