According to a recent report by Kantar, food prices in the UK have hit an all-time high, with inflation rising to 17.1% in the four weeks leading up to 19 February 2023. This means that
households could face an £811 increase in their average annual bill if they continue to buy the same items. Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer Insight, Worldpanel Division, UK at Kantar, said that shoppers have been facing sustained price rises for some time now and that this is having a big impact on people's lives.
Despite the rise in food prices, consumers spent more on their loved ones on Valentine's Day, with steak sales up by a quarter in the run-up to 14 February. Sales of sparkling wine doubled, and an additional £5 million was spent on boxed chocolates.
The report also revealed that Aldi remains the fastest-growing grocer, with sales rising by 26.7% and pushing its market share to a new record high of 9.4%. Lidl followed closely behind with sales increasing by 25.4% and taking its market share to 7.1%. Frozen food specialist Iceland also saw a rise in market share, taking 2.4% of market sales, up from 2.3% last year as spending through its tills increased by 10.8%.
Ocado also performed well, achieving its largest ever market share of 1.9% and growing sales by 11.3%. However, online sales fell by 0.9% over the 12 weeks.
Tesco edged ahead in the battle between the UK's biggest retailers, with sales up by 6.6%. J Sainsbury and Asda were just behind with sales rising by 6.2% and 5.9% respectively. Morrisons saw a decline in sales of 0.9%, but this was its best performance since May 2021.
Waitrose returned to growth, with sales nudging up by 0.7%, and it has a market share of 4.7%. Convenience retailer Co-op increased sales by 3.4%, while independents and symbols were up by 1.8%.
The report also highlighted that grocery price inflation is the second most important financial issue for the public, behind energy costs, with two-thirds of people concerned by food and drink prices, above public sector strikes and climate change. Photo by J Taylor, Wikimedia commons.