Weekly Shop Increases by 6%
Rising food prices mean that the average supermarket cost has risen by almost 6% in the past five months alone. Retail analysts Verdict report that consumers are paying an extra £514 million a month for the average 100 item shopping trolley.
Fresh fruit and vegetables saw the biggest increase at 16%, which could lead to more families not being able to afford the recommended five portions of fruit and veg per day. Supermarket own label products also rose by 5.6 % and big brands names were up by 6.1%.
Verdict director, Neil Saunders said that 13p in every pound is being spent by shoppers on their food bills bills, so that any “increases in food prices can be very difficult to cope with as there aren’t many areas where they can cut back to make savings.”
It seems that the average cost of living will keep increasing with Verdict predicting a further price rise in 2009, yet the Office for National Statistics say that the average wage rise is just 2%.
The only savings to be made are in pet food, ready meals and toiletries.
Average Price of Inflation from Verdict Stats
January 2008 to May 2008
Cost Increases:
Fresh fruit and veg +15.9%
Laundry and paper products +15.7%
Store cupboard (eg pasta) +8.4%
Meat and fish +7.0%
Baby products +6.6%
Dairy +6.2%
Frozen +4.5%
Drink +4.3%
Household Goods +2.2%
Bakery and Cereal +0.2%
Cost Decreases:
Pet Food -1.5%
Health and Beauty -2.3%
Ready meals and prepared food -5.1%
OVERALL +5.8%
