The British Independent Retailers Association has said that recent figures from the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index are encouraging, but it has questioned the food price hike.
The report shows that shop price annual inflation decelerated to 8.4% in June, down from 9% in May – below the three-month aberage rate of 8.7%, while shop price growth remains elevated.
Non-food inflation decelerated to 5.4% in June, down from 5.8% in May, below the three-month average of 5.6%. Inflation remains elevated in this category. Food inflation decelerated to 14.6% in June, down from 15.4% in May. This is again below the three-month average rate of 15.2% and is the second consecutive deceleration in the food category.
Andrew Goodacre, BIRA ceo, commented: “It is encouraging to see inflation levels falling across all the sectors, but I am sure we would all like to see it happening much quicker.
“However what I am still struggling to understand is why food inflation is 300% more than non-food? We understand that food inflation is being blamed on supply chain costs, and yet non-food products/retailers are experiencing the very same pressures. This is important because the high level of food inflation, seen as essential purchases, is detrimental to consume confidence and impacts on the discretionary expenditure, which in turn is the lifeblood of thousands of independent retailers.”
