(Alliance News) - UK shop prices registered another decline in February, numbers on Wednesday showed, with the third national lockdown in England hitting consumer spending and forcing retailers into promotional activity.
According to the British Retail Consortium-Nielsen tracker, shop prices in the UK fell 2.4% annually, compared to a 2.2% decrease in January.
"Prices in February fell, driven by a drop in non-food prices. With the third lockdown constricting consumer spending across all income brackets, many retailers have been vigorously discounting products in an attempt to encourage additional spending," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.
Non-food prices fell 3.9% yearly in February, faring worse than January's 3.6% fall. BRC noted it was the sharpest rate of decline for non-food items since May.
"Food inflation was steady at 0.2% in February. This is the lowest inflation rate for the category since January 2017," BRC added.
"Fresh Food prices fell for the third consecutive month in February, with prices decreasing by 0.8%, the same rate as in January."
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.