Food inflation in the UK reached a record high last month as shoppers stocked up for Christmas and the New Year.
The latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ shows that food inflation accelerated to 13.3% in December, up from 12.4% in November and the highest monthly inflation rate for food since records began in 2005.
Fresh food inflation jumped to 15.0%, while prices of ambient food — such as pasta and tinned goods — rose by 11.0%.
There were some savings to be had, however, as retailers offered discounts on non-food items to shift stock. Non-food inflation decelerated to 4.4% in December, down from 4.8% in November.
Overall, the monthly figures show that shop price annual inflation fell back to 7.3% in December, from 7.4% in November.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said it was a “challenging Christmas” for many households.
“Not only did the cold snap force people to spend more on their energy bills, but the prices of many essential foods also rose as reverberations from the war in Ukraine continued to keep high the cost of animal feed, fertilizer and energy.
“Non-food price rises eased as some retailers used discounting to shed excess stock built up during the disruptions to supply chains, meaning some customers were able to bag bargain gifts. The combined impact was that price increases overall plateaued, with the reduction in non-food inflation offsetting the higher food prices.”
Mike Watkins, head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, added that consumer demand is likely to be weak in the first quarter of 2023 due to the impact of energy price increases and Christmas spending bills starting to arrive.
