After many months of high inflation and a record-breaking month for food price inflation in January, the U.K. grocery retail sector is still losing money.
According to Kantar, the rate of grocery price inflation in the United Kingdom hit 16.7 percent in the four weeks ending on January 22, 2023, the highest level since the research company began monitoring the statistic in 2008.
According to Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, “late last year, we saw the rate of grocery price inflation decrease marginally, but that little indication of respite for consumers has been short-lived.” According to McKevitt, households now incur an additional GBP 788 (USD 971, EUR 894) in yearly food buying expenses.
According to Kantar, sales of chilled fish decreased in the U.K. for the quarter ending December 25 by 1.3 percent, up from a fall of 3.7 percent for the quarter ended in late November.
Christmas expenditure and volume in the U.K.’s smoked fish subcategory decreased by the most—by 14.5 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively—when compared to Christmas 2021.
U.K. merchants are taking some dramatic action in reaction to the persistent inflation problem. Tesco said it will add about 1,800 posts in other locations while axing about 1,750 lead and team managers from its major stores. And Tesco is taking steps to shutter all of its remaining counters beginning in… after shutting meat, seafood, and hot deli counters in around 390 locations since 2019…
