Grocery prices have now climbed to their highest level since April 2009, and according to research firm Kantar, the figure has risen by £100 more than reported in April this year.

It said prices are rising fastest in markets such as dog food, butter and milk, while falling in spirits. Grocery inflation now stands at 6.7% for the 12-week period ending 12 June 2022.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The inflation number makes for difficult reading and shoppers will be watching budgets closely as the cost-of-living crisis takes its toll.

“Based on our latest data, the average annual grocery bill is on course to rise by £380. This is over £100 more than the number we reported in April this year, showing just how sharp price increases have been recently and the impact inflation is having on the sector.”

Its analysis revealed that shoppers are taking steps to manage the impact of rising prices at the tills by swapping branded items for own-label products. Branded item sales have declined by 1% while own-label sales have risen 2.9%.

Kantar said Lidl was once again the fastest growing grocer this period, pushing its sales up by 9.5% over the 12 weeks to 12 June to reach a 6.9% market share. Sales at Aldi rose by 7.9%, moving its share up versus last year by 0.8 percentage points to 9%.

Shoppers are also increasingly turning to value ranges, such as the Asda Smart Price, Co-op Honest Value and Sainsbury’s Imperfectly Tasty ranges to save money. Overall, value own-label lines grew 12%.

Increase in footfall

While shoppers appear to be cutting back as supermarket sales fell 1.9% in the three-month period, store footfall jumped by 3.4% over the last four weeks.

Online sales also fell to its lowest proportion of the market since May 2020 at 12%, having suffered since the end of the pandemic, Kantar said.

This is the twelfth month in a row they’ve been in decline, with digital orders falling by nearly 9% in June.

It could also be down to shoppers scaling back on delivery charges, coupled with sunnier weather pushing up store footfall.

Kantar said that despite grocery inflation at a decade-long high, sales during the Platinum Jubilee week were £87m higher than on average in 2022.

McKevitt, said: “Despite the rising cost of living, the British public got into the Jubilee spirit in characteristic fashion. Alcohol sales were up by a third and purchases of ice cream increased by 35% over the week compared to the average in 2022. Many people tried their hand at the official Jubilee pudding, the lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle, and sales grew by 16% for lemon curd, 58% for fresh cream, 18% for Swiss rolls and 9% for custard.”