UK households face an extra £788 on their annual shopping bills as grocery costs continued to mount in January, indicative data by market researcher Kantar has found.
Grocery price inflation hit 16.7 per cent in the four weeks to January 22, the fastest pace since Kantar began tracking the figure in 2008. The January rate was 2.3 percentage points above December’s reading. Prices for milk, eggs and dog food grew at the fastest pace.
“Late last year, we saw the rate of grocery price inflation dip slightly, but that small sign of relief for consumers has been shortlived,” said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight, with the rate “flying past the previous high we recorded in October”.
Annualised food price inflation was 16.8 per cent in December, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Grocers competed for customers by boosting their own-label ranges, which rose 9.3 per cent in January, outpacing branded alternatives, which were up by 1 per cent.
High food prices also prompted buyers to turn to discount chains,…
