Asda chair Lord Stuart Rose has called on the government to consider reducing VAT or further cutting fuel tax to help “kill” inflation.
This comes as the Big 4 grocer announced that customers are setting £30 spending limits as they cut back on spending as a result of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
According to Rose, such measures would be “helpful” and that more should be done to ease the burden on low income households.
Speaking to the BBC, Rose said: “People are trading back. They are worried about spending. They’ve got a limit that they’ve set out, too. They say £30 is one limit and if they get to more than £30 then that’s it, stop. It’s the same with petrol.”
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According to Asda’s latest disposable income tracker, in May households had, on average, spent £44 less a week, reporting a decrease of approximately 18% year-on-year.
As a result, the supermarket giant unveiled its Just Essentials range and price freezes.
Rose added: “We’re doing everything we can. We’ve invested nearly £100 million in the last month or so making sure customers get essentials at very, very attractive prices to try and help them.
“I would say the most important priority in the short term is to kill inflation, because once inflation gets embedded, it’s very, very hard to kill. If it means we have to slow the economy down for a while, and it looks as if we are heading for a recession, then so be it.”
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