London, June 22 (US): British shoppers have traded branded items for cheaper brand-name products and are turning to value ranges to help manage grocery inflation, which soared to 8.3% in the four weeks to June 12, the highest level since April. 2009, industry data showed on Tuesday.
Market researcher Kantar said prices are rising faster in markets such as butter, milk and dog food, while morale is waning, Reuters reports.
It said supermarket sales of branded goods fell 1.0% over the four weeks on an annual basis, while sales of its own branded products rose 2.9%, buoyed by the strong performance of German-owned discount companies Aldi and Lidl, which They own naming repertoire.
Kantar said sales of value domains, such as Asda Smart Price, Co-op Honest Value and Sainsbury’s Imperfectly Tasty, grew 12.0%.
Comments on consumer behavior echo those of market leader Tesco last Friday.
Based on his latest data, Al-Kontar said the average annual UK grocery bill is on track to rise by 380 pounds ($465).
“This is over £100 more than the figure we reported in April of this year, and shows the extent of the sharp price increases recently and the impact of inflation on the sector,” said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer.
Al-Kontar said store footfall jumped 3.4% over the last four weeks, while the internet fell to the lowest percentage in the grocery market since May 2020 at 12.0%. Digital orders fell nearly 9% in June.
“In addition to a return to pre-COVID habits, this drop could also be a result of shoppers looking to cut costs by avoiding delivery fees,” McKevitt said.
Al-Kontar said supermarket sales fell 1.9% in the 12 weeks to June 12 on an annual basis, but rose 0.4% in the last four-week period.
The market leaders Tesco, Aldi and Lidl were the only groups that increased market share based on sales value over a 12-week period. Only discounters increased sales.
Al-Kontar added that sales during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Week (until June 5) increased by 87 million pounds over the 2022 average.