Shop price annual inflation decelerated further to 6.2% in September, down from 6.9% in August, leaving shop price growth at its lowest since September 2022 – according to the latest BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index.
Non-food inflation eased to 4.4% in September, down from 4.7% in August, and at its lowest since December 2022.
Helen Dickinson, OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), says: “Food prices dropped on the previous month for the first time in over two years because of fierce competition between retailers. This brought YoY food inflation down to single digits and contributed to the fifth consecutive monthly fall in the headline rate, helped by easing cost pressures.
“We expect shop price inflation to continue to fall over the rest of the year, however there are still many risks to this trend – high interest rates, climbing oil prices, global shortages of sugar, as well as the supply chain disruption from the war in Ukraine. Retailers will continue to do all they can to support their customers and bring prices down, especially as households face being squeezed by higher energy and mortgage bills.”
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight, NielsenIQ, adds: “With further price cuts by supermarkets in recent weeks, food inflation continues to slow, which is good news. However, there continues to be pressure on budgets, with over half of households still feeling that they are significantly impacted by the continued increases in cost of living. So, it will be important for retail sales to keep momentum, which means we can expect more price cuts and increased promotional activity across all retail channels.”
