The tempo of grocery inflation has eased again to single digits for the primary time since July final yr, based on closely-watched business knowledge.
Kantar Worldpanel, which data grocery store gross sales and value knowledge, put the annual charge at 9.7% through the 4 weeks to 29 October.
It mentioned the decline, from the 11% recorded over the earlier 4 weeks, was nonetheless primarily pushed by discounting as chains sought to bolster buyer loyalty within the run-up to the essential season for Christmas gross sales.
The report pointed to restricted contributions elsewhere as solely butter, pasta and milk had been amongst on a regular basis gadgets that price lower than a yr in the past.
Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and client perception, mentioned: “Retailers proceed to have a look at methods of softening the blow for customers and slowing the speed of value rises.
“This has included upping the ante on promotions – every single one of the grocers increased the proportion of sales through deals versus last year, which is something that has only happened on one other occasion in nearly 10 years.
“Consumer spending on promotions has now hit 27.2% of complete grocery gross sales – the very best stage we have seen since Christmas final yr.
“This is a big gear shift from October 2022 when this figure was less than a quarter.”
That promotional exercise was stripped away after Christmas as shoppers and companies alike confronted rising prices on many fronts, together with power payments.
The report mentioned that whereas the most recent easing in grocery inflation can be welcome, it was clear customers had been persevering with to really feel the pinch as personal label gross sales remained forward of branded strains when it comes to demand.
Own label strains have grown forward of their branded counterparts each month since February 2022.
However, that hole may shut by the festive season.
Read extra:
Spending calculator: See which costs have gone up or down
Number of drivers stealing gas rises sharply
Revealed: How many Britons have missed invoice funds this yr
A separate report launched by Barclaycard on Tuesday recommended customers had been holding off on discretionary spending final month, amid the broader price of dwelling disaster, to save cash for Christmas.
Of these searching for financial savings, 45% had been utilizing vouchers or loyalty factors to get cash off procuring, whereas 38% had been visiting a number of supermarkets to supply a variety of offers.
Kantar declared that Lidl noticed the quickest gross sales progress amongst chains throughout October, whereas Sainsbury’s made essentially the most progress among the many extra established supermarkets.
Source: information.sky.com”