BRC-NIELSENIQ SHOP PRICE INDEX – May 2023
Food inflation eased in May
Period Covered:
01 – 07 May
2023
- Shop Price annual inflation accelerated to 9.0% in May, up
slightly from 8.8% in April. This is above the 3-month average
rate of 8.9%. This brings shop price growth to a fresh high.
- Non-Food inflation accelerated to 5.8% in May, up from 5.5%
in April. This is above the 3-month average rate of 5.7%.
- Food inflation decelerated to 15.4% in May, down from
15.7% in April. This is the same as the 3-month average rate of
15.4%, and is the second highest inflation rate in the food
category on record.
- Fresh Food inflation decelerated in May, to 17.2%, down from
17.8% in April. This is below the 3-month average rate of 17.3%
and is the second highest inflation rate in the fresh food
category on record.
- Ambient Food inflation accelerated to 13.1% in May, up from
12.9% in April. This is above the 3-month average rate of 12.8%
and is the fastest rate of increase in the ambient food category
on record.
|
|
OVERALL SPI
|
FOOD
|
NON-FOOD
|
|
% Change
|
On last year
|
On last month
|
On last year
|
On last month
|
On last year
|
On last month
|
|
May-23
|
9.0
|
0.5
|
15.4
|
0.5
|
5.8
|
0.5
|
|
Apr-23
|
8.8
|
0.2
|
15.7
|
0.8
|
5.5
|
-0.1
|
Helen Dickinson, OBE, Chief Executive of the British
Retail Consortium, said:
“While overall shop price inflation rose slightly in May,
households will welcome food inflation beginning to fall. The
slow down in inflation was largely driven by lower energy and
commodity costs starting to filter through to lower prices of
some staples including butter, milk, fruit and fish. Conversely,
the price of chocolate and coffee rose off the back of the
ongoing high global costs for these commodities. While non-food
inflation rose, consumers are benefitting from heavy discounts in
footwear as well as books and home entertainment.”
“Fierce competition between supermarkets has helped keep British
food among the cheapest of the large European economies. While
there is reason to believe that food inflation might be peaking,
it is vital that government does not hamper this early progress
by piling more costs onto retailers and forcing up the cost of
goods even further. The biggest risk comes from policies such as
the incoming border checks and reforms to packaging recycling
fees.”
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight,
NielsenIQ, said:
“To help mitigate the impact of inflation, shoppers are saving
money by looking for seasonal promotions on the high street and
taking advantage of the price reductions offered by supermarket
loyalty schemes. Food retailing in particular is competitive, so
hopefully the recent price cuts in fresh foods is a sign that
inflation has now peaked, albeit ambient inflation may take a
little while longer to slow.”
