Shoppers turn to packed lunches to keep budgets in line – as grocery price inflation ‘remains high’
Shoppers are turning to packed lunches in an attempt to try and keep their budgets in line, with 86 million more lunchboxes brought to work last year, new research suggests.
Spending on alcohol also fell by more than half in January compared with December – with people taking part in Dry January and other health challenges, according to industry data.
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It comes as figures show the recent trend of a gradual easing in grocery price inflation was effectively halted in January as retailers reined in special offers after Christmas.
Kantar Worldpanel, which tracks sales among chains, said the rate of annual price rises for food, drink and other household essentials remained high at 6.8% during the four weeks to 21 January.
It represented a drop of just 0.1% on December’s grocery inflation rate of 6.9%.
However, separate figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – a trade association which represents supermarkets – and NielsenIQ, also out on Tuesday, are more upbeat.
Their research suggests shop price inflation – which includes both groceries and non-food items like clothes – fell this month to its lowest level since May 2022.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the drop was driven mostly by offers on non-food items. However, a drop in the price of tea and milk was also said to be a factor.
The pace of grocery price rises – and the more general consumer price index (CPI) of inflation – had been declining towards the end of last year.
But CPI surprisingly went up earlier this month, and there has been growing concern that prices will soon be hit by disruption to supply routes in the Red Sea, amid attacks on shipping linked to the Israel-Hamas war.
However, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight Fraser McKevitt said its latest figures were “more about the battle between the supermarkets to offer best value, rather than geopolitics”.
He said: “Retailers have taken their foot off the promotions gas slightly as we’ve come into the new year, and that’s meant inflation hasn’t fallen as quickly.
“Items bought on offer accounted for 27% of all grocery spending in January versus 32% last month.
“Christmas is always a bumper period for deals and the grocers pulled the price lever especially hard in December, as they sought to get shoppers through their doors.”
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Kantar said Britons were continuing to trim costs and keep an eye out for offers while inflation remained “stubbornly high”.
Mr McKevitt said: “There’s still plenty of opportunities for consumers to make savings. The overall trend in offers is up versus this time last year, and nearly £500m more was spent on offers this January than in the same month in 2023.”
In addition, Researchers also said “Veganuary” could be responsible for an 8% increase in sales of own label plant-based ranges.
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How inflation is affecting daily lives
However, despite grocery inflation remaining high, the pace of price rises is less than half of what it was a year ago, when Kantar’s rate for January was 16.7%.
Meanwhile the BRC and NielsenIQ said shop price annual inflation eased to 2.9% in January, down from 4.3% in December – the lowest since May 2022.
The researchers also said food inflation eased from 6.7% in December to 6.1% in January.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “Shoppers are seeing savings at the checkout with non-food retailers on promotion and food retailers continuing to reduce prices when the costs of goods fall.
“However, consumer demand remains fragile as most households are yet to feel better off after nearly two years of inflation.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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