Just over a quarter of all households say they are struggling financially, double the figure from a year ago, as grocery costs rose 14.7% in October compared with a year ago. This is the highest level since Kantar, which produces the data, began tracking price changes in 2008. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer intelligence at Kantar, said: “Once again, we have a new record for food price inflation and it is too early at this time to call the headlines.” He said nine in 10 of those worried about their finances said food and drink prices were a concern, second only to energy bills, “so it’s clear how much grocery inflation is hitting people’s wallets and adding to domestic their concerns”. Sales of cheaper proprietary supermarket ranges have risen by 42%, although some of this will be due to price increases, while sales of branded products rose by 0.4%, suggesting a big drop in the number of items sold after the inflation bill . UK supermarket inflation chart Discounters Aldi and Lidl are also benefiting from efforts by households to manage their budgets with sales up 22.7% and 21.5% respectively in the quarter to the end of October compared with 5.2% growth for the market in total. In contrast, Morrisons, Waitrose and independent grocers reported falling sales. McKevitt said there are signs shoppers are cutting back on non-essential items, with Halloween pumpkin sales down last year. Discounted confectionery sales also fell. The muted response to Halloween, now a big event in the UK shopping calendar, could suggest a similar drop in Christmas spending. British shoppers are expected to spend £4.4 billion less on non-essential items – down 22% – in the run-up to Christmas as rising living costs squeeze their cash reserves. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. When it comes to festive food and drink, 44% of respondents said they would cut back this year, including turkey and mulled wine, in the latest survey by debit and credit card company Barclaycard. Two-fifths said they planned to cut back on spending on Christmas parties and socializing. Spending at supermarkets rose 4.6% in October, below the rate of inflation, suggesting reductions in the number of items bought or a shift to lower price ranges. McKevitt said: “This time last year, 2 million consumers had already bought their festive Christmas pudding. We’ve seen 32% fewer shoppers do so this time, suggesting people aren’t trying to spread the cost of their shopping – at least not in October.” Kantar’s findings contradict Sainsbury’s take on Christmas shopping. The supermarket said it had moved its festive promotional launch a week earlier because customers were sharing the cost of their annual spree by buying some items earlier than usual.
