UK grocery price inflation falls at fastest rate on record, research finds

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UK grocery price inflation fell at the fastest pace on record in December, according to data from research company Kantar, the latest evidence of a significant retreat in price growth in Britain.

Grocery price annual inflation eased from 9.1 per cent in November to 6.7 per cent in December, marking the fastest month-on-month drop that Kantar has recorded since it started tracking prices in 2008.

The figures published on Wednesday came after British Retail Consortium numbers earlier this week showed December food inflation easing to the same rate, the lowest since June 2022.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, attributed the decline to promotions being “central” to retailers’ strategy.

He explained that nearly one-third of all spending in the four weeks to Christmas Eve was made on items with some kind of offer, the highest level since December 2020.

Both sets of data pointed to the significant easing of price pressure on British consumers after an inflationary upsurge in recent years that has hit poorest households hardest.

The latest official data for overall UK inflation published last month showed a sharp fall to 3.9 per cent in November, putting pressure on the Bank of England to begin cutting rates from a 15-year high of 5.25 per cent.

Food inflation in November was 9.2 per cent, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, less than half its 45-year peak of 19.2 per cent in March. The ONS will release December figures on January 17.

Food and energy prices had surged after Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Lower grocery inflation helped boost transactions and spending last month, according to Kantar. Britons made 488mn trips to the supermarkets over the four weeks to December 24 — 12mn more than the previous year and the largest number at Christmas since 2019, it reported.

Cheaper supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi continued to be the fastest-growing grocers as they have been during most of the cost of living crisis, a sign of how consumers are adapting to tighter budgets.

Kantar reported that the two discounters hit their highest-ever market shares for the Christmas period.