Food prices drop for first time in two years as supermarkets step up competition

According to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), food prices were down 0.1% month-on-month.

Chief executive Helen Dickinson said this came as a result of “fierce competition between retailers”, and brought year-on-year food inflation down to single digits at 9.9%.

This is below the three month average rate of 11.4% and is the fifth consecutive deceleration in the food category, with inflation at its lowest since August 2022.

Fresh food inflation slowed in September to 9.6% while ambient food inflation fell to 10.4%, as Dickinson said customers purchasing dairy, margarine, fish and vegetables “will have found lower prices compared to last month”.

Overall shop price inflation also eased to 6.2% in September, down from 6.9% in August.

Dickinson added: “We expect shop price inflation to continue to fall over the rest of the year, however there are still many risks to this trend – high interest rates, climbing oil prices, global shortages of sugar, as well as the supply chain disruption from the war in Ukraine.

“Retailers will continue to do all they can to support their customers and bring prices down, especially as households face being squeezed by higher energy and mortgage bills.”

Grocery Gazette