UK grocery inflation eases slightly to 17.3% in April -Kantar

British grocery inflation fell in April but remained around record highs, industry data revealed on Tuesday.

Kantar reported 17.3% grocery inflation in the four weeks ending April 16, down from 17.5% in March.

Egg, milk, and cheese prices rose highest in April, marking the eighth consecutive month of double-digit grocery price inflation.

“The latest drop in grocery price inflation will be welcome news for shoppers but it’s too early to call the top,” said Fraser McKevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer analytics.

“We’ve been here before when the rate fell at the end of 2022, only for it to rise again over the first quarter of this year,” he said.

UK grocery inflation is most recent in April Kantar data.

In March, UK consumer price inflation decreased to 10.1%. Food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose 19.1% in March, the largest increase since August 1977.

The British Retail Consortium, which represents the major supermarket chains, expects consumer food costs to start falling in the coming months, while the Bank of England anticipates total inflation to dip below 4% by year’s end.

Kantar reported 8.1% year-on-year growth in UK grocery sales.

It said Britons were still buying supermarkets’ own-label products, which are cheaper than brands, to cut costs.

Branded sales up 4.4%, while own-label sales rose 13.5%, with the lowest-priced lines up 46%.

Aldi and Lidl reached record market shares of 10.1% and 7.6%, respectively, in the 12 weeks to April 16.

Aldi’s sales jumped 25.0% and Lidl’s 25.1%.

Consumers shop at least three large retailers per month. “This has benefited discounters,” McKevitt said.