Shop prices fell 1.9% in April
Shop prices continued to fall in April as food prices remained at a record low for a second consecutive month.
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium and Nielsen in their monthly index show that shop prices dropped by 1.9% year-on-year, after falling by 2.1% in March.
Food prices edged down 0.9% with both fresh and ambient food helping to keep prices down.
Meanwhile, non-food deflation decelerated to 2.5% in April from 2.8% in March.
BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: “The falling prices of non-food goods slowed down very slightly, whilst offering up great deals in clothing, electricals, books, stationery, home entertainment, DIY, gardening and hardware.
“April saw the 24th consecutive month of falling shop prices and the 25th consecutive month of falling non-food prices. These trends help to illustrate how retail has helped the consumer keep the cost of living down in recent years.”
The BRC said that there is evidence to show that around a third of grocery spend is now on promotions and that food prices in UK supermarkets are on average 7% lower than the Eurozone average when fruit and vegetables are excluded.
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, said: “The challenge for retailers is that despite consumer confidence being back to pre-recession levels, many households are still cautious about spending, and for those with more disposable income, some appear to be spending a little more outside of retail, for example on leisure and entertainment. So we anticipate promotions continuing over the summer months to help the momentum in retail sales.”
