Annual grocery bills to soar by £380 - Kantar

(Sharecast News) - The average annual grocery bill is set to rise by nearly £400 this year, according to research published on Tuesday, as surging inflation continues to push up prices.

Retail consultancy Kantar said like-for-like grocery prices had risen 8.3% over the past month, up 1.3 percentage points on May and the highest level since April 2009. In the 12 weeks to 12 June, inflation was 6.7%, with the fastest rising prices seen in dog food, butter and milk.

As a result, Kantar now expects average grocery bills to rise by £380, more than £100 higher than its last forecast.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight, said: "The inflation number makes for difficult reading, and shoppers will be watching budgets closely as the cost of living crisis takes its toll.

"Based on our latest data, the average annual grocery bill is on course to rise by £380. This is over £100 more than the number we reported in April, showing just how sharp price increases have been recently and the impact inflation is having on the sector."

Kantar said supermarket sales fell 1.9% in 12 weeks to 12 June, the best market performance since October 2021, while in the last four weeks, sales rose 0.4% year-on-year. Shoppers looked to have splashed out for the Platinum Jubilee, with sales during the week to 5 June £87m higher than on average in 2022.

Among individual retailers, the discounters continued to benefit from the tough economic climate. Lidl saw sales rise 9.5% year-on-year in the 12 weeks to 12 June, giving it a market share of 6.9%, while Aldi's sales rose 7.9%. It now has a market share of 9.0%.

Among their rivals, Tesco - which has the largest market share of 27.3% - saw sales ease 1.1%, while at J Sainsbury they fell 3.9%. Sales slid 7.2% at Wm Morrison and by 4.8% at Asda.

Sales at Waitrose, part of the John Lewis Partnership, were down 6.4%, and were off 2.3% at Ocado Group, although the online retailer retained its 1.8% market share.

Much of the grocery sector is facing tough comparatives following the record sales seen during the pandemic.