Shop prices down 1.3% in June
Shop prices fell by 1.3% in June compared to a drop of 1.9% in May. The fall marked the 26th consecutive month of price drops.
The figures released by the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen in their monthly shop price index show that food reported annual deflation of 0.4%, which was the lowest deflation rate for the category since February 2015.
Non-food deflation slowed to 1.9% in June from 2.5% in May.
BRC director general, Helen Dickinson, explained: “Consumer confidence hit a 15 year high which suggests that shoppers will feel more comfortable about buying major purchases. It also suggests that consumer spending, one of the main drivers of the recovery, should remain robust over the summer.
“Shoppers wishing to invest in their home won’t be disappointed with great deals to be found in furniture and flooring and gardening and hardware in particular.
“We’re seeing a strong appetite for consumer credit, inflation remains at an historic low, unemployment continues to fall and wages have started to rise, the wider macro-economic data continues to be supportive for the consumer.’’
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, added: “Retailers continue to use price cuts and promotions to stimulate sales which is helping to maintain shop price deflation, and we see little evidence to suggest that prices will rise in the near future.
“With many food retailers still using price cuts to attract new shoppers, this is lowering the cost of the weekly shop and so the overall CPI figure in the UK. Deflation and price led competition will continue to be a key driver of sales growth for some time yet.“
