Trust in supermarkets plummets as basic grocery prices rise up to 30%

The price of basic groceries such as butter, milk and cheese soared by up to 30% year on year in December as trust in supermarkets plummets amid the cost-of-living crisis, new research shows.

According to consumer warchdog, Which?’s supermarket food and drink inflation tracker records, inflation was at 15% on average across Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose last month.

Despite being crowned the cheapest supermarkets to shop at, Lidl’s prices rose the most in December up 21.2%, with 20.8% at Aldi.

Inflation rose slightly above average at Asda to 15.4%, however levels sat below 15% across the other supermarkets surveyed.


 

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Trust at Aldi and Lidl sat lower than rivals 18 months ago, however this is now higher than average, while Waitrose has the lowest level of trust among all consumers.

In December, data found that despite inflation being at 15%, butter and spreads went up by 29.4%.

Milk also saw 26.3% price increases, with 22.3% for cheese, 19.5% across bakery items and 18.6% for water.

Across these categories, Utterly Butterly saw price hikes across several supermarkets, including at Waitrose where it was up 95% to £1.95, with the upmarket retailer’s Duchy Organic Homogenised Semi-Skimmed Milk increasing 87.1% to £1.22.

Which? also looked into the worst individual price hikes on a food item and found Quaker Oat So Simple Simply Apple rose from £1 on average to £2.88 in the last year at Asda, an increase of 188%.

Budget supermarket ranges saw 20.3% price increases with 18.5% on own-brand items, whereas premium ranges saw lower rates of inflation, instead up 12.6%.

“We know food prices have risen exponentially in the last year and our inflation tracker shows the dramatic impact this is having on everyday products at the supermarket,” Which? head of food policy, Sue Davies said.

“Some households are already skipping meals to make ends meet and our findings show trust in supermarkets taking a hit as many people worry they are putting profits before the people suffering during this cost-of-living crisis.”

She said that “supermarkets must do more,” as “Which? is calling for them to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, particularly in areas where people are most in need, as well as pricing which enables people to easily work out best value and promotions to support people who are particularly struggling.”

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