Grocers roll back prices on essentials as UK-wide food inflation rises for second month in a row

UK grocery prices nudged up 2% in the four weeks to September 29, up from 1.7% the previous month, according to the latest data from the Kantar grocery market share. 

In that time, Kantar found that grocery sales also jumped by 2%. 

With many consumers looking ahead to the Autumn Budget with some dread, Kantar found that sales of promoted items climbed 7.4% in September, as households continued to manage their finances. 

By comparison, full-price sales only inched up 0.3% in the period, as grocers continued to roll back prices on essential items to compete for wary consumer spending. 

“In the fiercely competitive retail sector, the battle for value is on,” said Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt.

“Supermarkets are doing what they can to keep costs down for consumers and thanks to their efforts the prices in some categories are falling. The average price paid for toilet and kitchen roll is 6% lower year on year, for example, while dog and cat food are 4% and 3% cheaper respectively.”

Despite consumers being wary about the UK’s economic situation, Kantar found that they were still gearing up to spend on Halloween.

“Pumpkins are flying off the shelves, with sales nearly doubling last September’s figures, at just under £1m over the past four weeks,” McKevitt noted.

“Sugar confectionery has also seen a 9% lift and spending is expected to ramp up further this month as trick or treating approaches; confectionery sales were 16% higher in the second half of October last year.”

Ocado makes it eight

Pureplay grocer Ocado was the fastest growing of the supermarkets in the UK for September, marking its eighth month in a row in this position. 

Supermarket Tesco also enjoyed its largest growth in market share since December 2017. Competitor Sainsbury’s recorded a 5.1% increase in sales for the period, while Asda’s woes continued as its market share slumped 5.1% to 12.6%. 

The discounters also enjoyed a productive period, with sales at Lidl jumping 8.8% while Aldi recorded a more modest 1.8% jump.