Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

UK Shoppers shift to cheaper grocery options as cost-of-living worsens: Research

“Shoppers are starting to make different choices in how to compensate for their rising cost of living.”

UK Shoppers shift to cheaper grocery options as cost-of-living worsens: Research

Britons are shifting to cheaper food alternatives in their supermarket shopping as they try to navigate a worsening cost of living crisis, industry data showed on Tuesday.

Market researcher NielsenIQ said that over the four weeks to June 18 sales of frozen poultry rose 12% year-on-year, sales of rice and grains increased 11%, canned beans and pasta were up 10%, gravy/stock up 9%, canned meat up 9% and dry pasta up 31%.


In contrast, sales of beers, wines and spirits, still affected by the slow reopening of the hospitality industry a year ago, fell 9.7%, while general merchandise sales fell 6.1% as shoppers trimmed discretionary spending.

"Shoppers are starting to make different choices in how to compensate for their rising cost of living. For some households, the way to save money is to buy cheaper products," Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ's UK head of retailer and business insight said.

He noted that for the 15% of households who now consider themselves to be "strugglers", almost a quarter of this cohort will stop buying certain products altogether and 28% will shop more at German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The researcher said total grocery sales at UK supermarkets rose 1.5% on a value basis over the four-week period year-on-year, boosted by the queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations and a spell of hot sunny weather. However, sales fell 5.5% on a volume basis.

Over the four weeks store visits grew 7%, an extra 31 million trips, the market researcher said.

In contrast, online sales fell 12% compared with last year, with almost half a million fewer online shoppers than in June 2021.

This meant the online share of grocery sales reduced to 11.3% from 11.7% in May and 13.1% a year ago.

Market leader Tesco TSCO.L was the only one of Britain's traditional big four supermarket groups to grow sales on a value basis over the 12 weeks to June 18. They were up 0.4% year on year.

Aldi and Lidl were the fastest-growing food retailers, with their combined market share hitting 19.1%

(Reuters)

More For You

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'

Keir Starmer speaks with medical staff during a visit to the Elective Orthopaedic Centre at Epsom Hospital in Epsom, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

'Hundreds of million pounds can be saved by abolishing NHS'


HUNDREDS of millions of pounds could be saved and patient waiting lists reduced as prime minister Keir Starmer announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body overseeing the state-funded health system.

In a speech delivered in Hull, Starmer explained his decision to streamline the National Health Service's management structure: "I can't, in all honesty, explain to the British people why they should spend their money on two layers of bureaucracy."

Keep ReadingShow less
Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

The lunar eclipse of Friday may not have been as dramatic as the total eclipses seen in other parts of the world

iStock

Early risers in the UK witness stunning Blood Moon eclipse

In the early hours of Friday morning, stargazers across the UK were treated to a partial lunar eclipse, with many enthusiasts rising before dawn to catch a glimpse. The celestial event, which saw the Earth's shadow partially covering the Moon, began at 05:09 GMT. Although only partial for most UK observers, it still presented a spectacular sight, with western parts of the country and regions further afield, such as the Americas and some Pacific islands, witnessing the eclipse.

For some, like Kathleen Maitland, the experience was magical. Stargazing from Pagham Harbour in West Sussex, she described the beauty of watching the Moon gradually darken and transform into a reddish hue, with the sunrise unfolding behind her. The eclipse gave rise to the so-called "blood Moon," a phenomenon that occurs when the Moon moves into the Earth’s shadow, turning a dusky red as sunlight is refracted through the Earth's atmosphere.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

From L- Reetu Kabra, Maya Sondhi, Shobu Kapoor and Meera Syal during Sangam Foundation's Women's Day celebrations.

Sangam Foundation celebrates Women's Day

HUNDREDS of women gathered for the International Women's Day celebrations of Sangam Foundation last week. Prominent actresses Meera Syal, Shobhu Kapoor and Maya Sondhi have attended the event, a statement said.

The British Asian celebrities shared their experiences of breaking into an industry rife with misogyny and prejudice. The industry veterans also talked about challenges they faced in a male-dominated field.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal
Democrats with £23,000

Sudhir Choudhrie

Asian tycoon Sudhir Choudhrie  backs Liberal Democrats with £23,000

BUSINESSMAN Sudhir Choudhrie has emerged as one of the biggest British Asian donors to the Liberal Democrats in the last quarter of 2024, according to the latest data from the Electoral Commission.

Choudhrie, currently an advisor on India to the leader of the Liberal Democrats, contributed on six different occasions to the party between October and December 2024, totalling more than £23,000. He contributed in a similar fashion in the previous quarter as well.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sunak is ‘content in his MP role
and has no desire to move to US’

(From left) Rishi Sunak with wife Akshata Murty, and parents Usha and Yashvir Sunak

Sunak is ‘content in his MP role and has no desire to move to US’

RISHI SUNAK “loves being an MP” and has no intention of flying to California to begin a new life in America, as his enemies alleged during the general election campaign last year.

And, unlike Boris Johnson, he is not striving to be prime minister again, even though he is still only 44.

Keep ReadingShow less