Grocery inflation falls for second month in a row to 17.2%

Grocery price inflation has fallen for the second month in a row and now sits at 17.2%, for the four weeks to 14 May 2023.

The data from Kantar comes as supermarkets claimed that costs have peaked this month.

The retail analysts found that the average cost of four pints of milk has dropped 8p since last month, although prices are still 30p higher than this time last year.

Despite inflation dropping, the 17.2% headline figure is still the third fastest rate of price rises that Kantar has recorded since 2008.

In March, food and drink prices soared at the fastest annual rate in over 45 years to 19.1%.

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As an alternative to a hot meal, the supermarkets café’s also offer a £1 cold pick-and-mix selection that includes a sandwich, drink and piece of fruit.

Over the latest four week period, take-home grocery sales rose by 10.8% year on year as the King’s coronation celebrations helped boost sales.

During the week of the coronation, an extra £218m was spent, with sales of sparking wine soaring 129% and still wine up 33%.

Kantar head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said: “The drop in grocery price inflation, which is down by 0.1 percentage points on last month’s figure, is without doubt welcome news for shoppers but it is still incredibly high.”

He added: “This could add an extra £833 to the average household’s annual grocery bill if consumers don’t shop in different ways.

“Of course, shoppers are savvy and they’re skirting higher prices by choosing more own-label goods. These lines grew by 15.2% this month, almost double that of branded products which rose by 8.3%.”

McKevitt concluded: “However, the gap between own lines and brands is narrowing in most stores, helped in some cases by loyalty discounts.

“The recently launched Nectar prices scheme boosted sales of brands bought on deal in Sainsbury’s, causing them to jump by more than a quarter this period.”