Shop Price annual inflation accelerated to 8.4% in February, up from 8.0% in January, new data reveals.
The latest BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index shows food inflation accelerated to 14.5% in February – up from 13.8% in January – and is the highest inflation rate in the food category on record.
Fresh Food inflation accelerated in February to 16.3%, up from 15.7% in January, and is the highest inflation rate in the fresh food category on record.
Ambient Food inflation accelerated to 12.2% in February, up from 11.3% in January, the fastest rate of increase in the ambient food category on record.
Meanwhile, non-food inflation accelerated to 5.3% in February, up from 5.1% in January, a fresh high in this category.
BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said: “Shop price inflation rose to another record high as retail prices across the board continued to react to the impact of soaring energy bills, higher running costs and tougher trading conditions brought about by the war in Ukraine.
“While we expect to see the annual inflation rate reduce in the second half of this year, retail prices will remain high over the coming months.”
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, added: “With more than half of UK consumers feeling they are in a worse financial position compared to a year ago and inflation still stubbornly high, many households are trimming back on non-essential spending.
“And as volume sales are down on last year, some retailers are having to work even harder to encourage customer spend, including additional price cuts or promotional activity. This is likely to continue until consumer confidence starts to improve.”
