Grocery inflation eased to its lowest level since December 2024 last month, as shoppers continued to lean on promotions to manage household budgets.

Take-home grocery sales rose 1.5 per cent in the four weeks to 17 May, according to the latest data from Worldpanel by Numerator, while like-for-like grocery prices increased by 3.1 per cent.

Worldpanel by Numerator head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said the slowdown in inflation was “welcome news” for households facing warnings over higher food prices linked to the war in the Middle East.

“This follows the UK government’s announcement on a plan to further reduce import tariffs by £150m on a range of food categories,” he said.

“While further details are expected this week, this would equate to just £5 per household, with the average annual shopping bill for food and drink, excluding alcohol, totalling £4,087.”

Shoppers continued to rely on deals, with 30.3 per cent of grocery sales including a promotion last month, up from 28.4 per cent a year earlier.

Spending on promoted items rose 9.5 per cent year on year, while full-price spending was broadly flat, edging up just 0.1 per cent.

However, the cool and cloudy start to May weighed on demand for summer categories.

Suncare volumes fell 28 per cent year on year, while ice cream sales slipped 3 per cent as grey skies over the early May Day bank holiday dampened seasonal demand.

Instead, shoppers turned to colder weather staples, with soup volumes up 9 per cent, fresh pies rising 4 per cent and coffee climbing 5 per cent.

McKevitt said: “May was a tale of two bank holidays. The cool start kept summer categories in the shade, with unseasonable weather hanging on longer than expected.

“But with record temperatures over the second bank holiday, we expect to see a significant uplift in spending on summer essentials like BBQ, suncare and ice cream as the month comes to a close.”

Lidl reached a record 8.6 per cent market share over the 12 weeks to 17 May, up 0.5 percentage points year on year, making it Britain’s fifth-largest grocer for the first time.

Tesco sales rose 3.2 per cent, lifting its market share to 28.2 per cent, while Sainsbury’s sales increased 3.1 per cent, taking its share to 15.2 per cent.

Asda held an 11.5 per cent share, ahead of Aldi at 10.8 per cent and Morrisons at 8.3 per cent.

Waitrose sales rose three per cent, with its market share steady at 4.5 per cent, while M&S grocery sales jumped 9.3 per cent.

Co-op’s market share stood at 5.1 per cent and Iceland’s at 2.2 per cent.

Ocado remained the fastest-growing grocer, with sales up 10.2 per cent, although this was its slowest growth rate since July 2024. Its market share increased 0.1 percentage point to 2.1 per cent.

Overall online grocery sales rose 7.2 per cent over the 12-week period.

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