Food sales have suffered as retail sales slide to below pre-Covid levels, according to the latest ONS data, driven largely by consumer’s cost-of-living concerns as well as store closures for the Queen’s funeral.
In September, food sales volumes fell by 1.8%, leaving them 3.2% below the pre-Coronavirus levels of February 2020.
Overall retail sales volumes dipped 1.4%, indicating that food sales are faring particularly badly as consumers continue to cut back, continuing the downward trend seen since last summer when pandemic restrictions were eased on hospitality.
The damaging impact of inflation continues to be shown by the widening gap between the value and volume of goods bought at supermarkets after food price inflation hit 14.6% in September.
ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: “Retail sales continued to fall in September after a weak August, and consumers are now buying less than before the pandemic.
“Drops were seen across all main areas of retailing, with falling sales in food stores making the largest contribution.
“Retailers told us that the fall in September was partly because many stores were closed for the Queen’s funeral, but also because of continued price pressures leading consumers to be careful about spending.”
Ebury head of sales Phil Monkhouse pointed out that the sales data masks the drop in real-terms shopping volumes as inflation means the value of sales broadly keeps pace with previous months.
“Household budgets are being squeezed, forcing cut-backs on non-essential spending in a trend we only expect to accelerate and entrench over the coming months,” he said.
“Food prices jumped nearly 15% in September and while the value of goods bought at food stores has increased over the previous months, the volume of goods has collapsed as customers are able to afford less with their food shop budget.”
