British grocery price inflation eased to its lowest level since October 2024 in August, providing some relief to households still facing elevated living costs, market researcher Worldpanel by Numerator said on Tuesday.
Like-for-like grocery inflation stood at 2.1% in the four weeks to August 9, down from 2.6% in July and 3.0% in the previous month, according to Worldpanel data.
The latest figures offer an early indication of food price pressures in August and provide the most up-to-date snapshot of consumer behaviour in Britain. Official inflation data for July is due to be released on Wednesday.
UK food inflation has remained below levels forecast earlier this year, helped by intense competition among supermarkets, consumers’ resistance to further price increases and improved hedging by suppliers.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has made tackling the cost of living one of his government’s key priorities as households continue to face pressure from higher living expenses.
Despite easing inflation, grocery sales increased 2.5% year-on-year over the four weeks to August 9, with 31.3% of sales made through promotional deals.
Hot weather also boosted demand for seasonal products. Sales of sun cream surged 58.4%, while ice cream and sorbet sales increased 26.1%.
Over the 12 weeks to August 9, market leader Tesco recorded a 1.8% rise in sales from a year earlier, although its market share declined for a third consecutive reporting period.
Sainsbury’s, the UK’s second-largest supermarket, posted stronger growth, with sales rising 3.5%.
Marks & Spencer remained the fastest-growing food retailer, despite not being fully included in Worldpanel’s dataset, with grocery sales up 15.9%.
Online supermarket Ocado recorded the second-fastest growth, with sales rising 13.1%, while discount retailer Lidl reported an 8.5% increase.
Asda, the UK’s third-largest supermarket, recorded a 0.2% decline in sales. However, Worldpanel said it was the retailer’s strongest performance since March 2024.
Boluwatife Enome
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