According to the British Retail Consortium, shop price inflation fell 0.4% from 1.4% in March, with food inflation dropping to 2.9% from 3.5% month-on-month and non-food falling to deflationary territory, down 1.0% in April after a 0.2% rise the previous month.

Helen Dickinson, BRC director general, said: “Household finances are still under pressure but it’s clear that isn’t coming from the shops. In April, overall shop price inflation was sharply down on the previous month, to its lowest for three and a half years, as a result of retailers working harder on promotions to encourage customers and the easing of some commodity costs.

“In particular, price competition on non-food goods intensified in the face of average incomes rising at their slowest for more than a decade and poor demand for seasonal products. Spring lines, in fashion and gardening for example, have not taken off in the way they did last year because warmer weather has been much more reluctant to take hold.”

This will come as a welcome relief to cash-strapped Brits, with as many as one in five households saying they have had to resort to their savings or borrowing in order to buy food, according to Which?

Mike Watkins from business analysts Nielsen said: “The good news for shoppers is that, aside from some seasonal price changes, there is a trend of price reduction in many food categories and price deflation in non-foods.

“This time last year food prices were on the increase during the washout of early summer 2012.

“Retailers will now be looking to keep prices competitive over the next few weeks to keep whatever momentum there is in sales growth going, and for high street retailers this could require summer discounts to start sooner rather than later.”