Shop price annual inflation accelerated to 1.5% in January, the highest rate of inflation since December 2012, according to new figures from the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen IQ.
The data shows food inflation accelerated to 2.7% in January, up from 2.4% in December, marking the highest inflation rate since October 2013.
Ambient food inflation accelerated to 2.4% in January, up from 1.7% in December, the highest rate of increase since November 2020.
However, fresh food inflation slowed slightly in January to 2.9%, down from 3.0% in December.
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, said: “The surge in energy and travel costs is now impacting disposable incomes and is likely to dent consumers’ willingness to spend. NielsenIQ research this month shows nearly a half of all households are saying that their most important concern at the moment is the rising cost of living. This will mean stores will need to encourage cash-strapped customers to keep shopping and despite the increase in shop prices, retailers are responding by keeping price increases as low possible for as long as possible.”
