Shoppers' trust in supermarkets has plummeted, as new research reveals grocery inflation has hit 15%.
The price of some groceries – such as butter and spreads – went up by almost 30% on average year on year in December, according to the latest figures from our supermarket food and drink inflation tracker.
The tracker records the annual inflation of tens of thousands of popular food and drink products at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – to see how inflation is impacting everyday products, across the same three-month and one-month periods year on year, including discounts but not multibuys or loyalty card offers.
It's unique in showing how inflation (the rate at which prices rise or fall over time) is affecting individual products, product categories and ranges. It also compares different supermarkets with each other.
- Find out more: Which?'s monthly supermarket food inflation tracker in depth
Where are grocery prices going up the most?
The tracker shows that in December food and drink inflation was at 15% overall across the eight supermarkets compared to the same month a year earlier. However, butters and spreads went up an astonishing 29.4%. Milk (26.3%), cheese (22.3%), bakery items (19.5%), water (18.6%) and savoury pies, pastries and quiches (18.5%) also saw bigger-than-average increases.
When we looked at the some of worst examples in the dairy categories for the three months to the end of December 2022, we found Duchy organic homogenised semi-skimmed milk (1 pint/568ml) went from 65p to £1.22 and Utterly Butterly (500g) went from £1 to £1.95, both at Waitrose.
Across supermarket ranges, budget (20.3%) and own-brand (18.5%) items were subject to higher rates of inflation than premium (12.6%) and branded (12.5%).
When it came to the supermarkets themselves, Lidl prices went up the most (21.1%) followed closely by Aldi (20.8%). The third highest was Asda (15.4%), although it was closer to the average of 15%. However, according to our monthly supermarket price comparison, all three are still the cheapest supermarkets.
- Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket this month?
Trust in supermarkets falls
While the food and groceries industry typically enjoys high levels of trust from consumers, and enjoyed a significant increase during the pandemic, the Which? latest Consumer Insight survey data shows recent price rises have coincided with a huge drop in trust in this sector – from +67 in May 2021 to +42 now.*
Trust at Aldi and Lidl tended to be lower than rivals 18 months ago, but has stayed relatively the same during this period; this means it’s now higher than average, at +48 and +45 respectively. Waitrose had the lowest level of trust (+29) among all consumers surveyed, though trust levels among Waitrose customers were much higher.
Among consumers who do not trust the sector, price rises emerged as a common reason, particularly the perception that prices are sometimes artificially inflated, and go beyond what is necessary for businesses to offset their own rising costs.
Source: Which? Consumer Insight Tracker, monthly online poll, approx 2,000 respondents per wave. Sample sizes for users of a brand are as follows: Aldi (1,518), Asda (1,497), Co-op (1,343), Iceland (1,260), Lidl (1,413), Morrisons (1,518) Sainsbury’s (1,550), Tesco (1,743), Waitrose (860).
One participant, a man in his late 30s from the southeast, told Which?: 'The cost of food from supermarkets is close to unmanageable for many people, including myself. Given that large supermarkets make huge profits, I feel they could keep their prices down while we struggle with the cost of living.'
A 43-year-old woman from Yorkshire said supermarkets 'don’t care about the consumer and charge whatever they can to make as much profit as possible'.
High food prices and a looming recession are putting UK households in an increasingly precarious position, with many people previously telling Which? they were skipping meals in order to make ends meet.
- Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket
Which? urges supermarkets to do more
Which? believes that consumers' dwindling trust in supermarkets shows the sector could be doing a lot more to help households through the cost of living crisis.
We are campaigning for all supermarkets to ensure own-brand budget line items are widely available throughout all branches, including in smaller convenience stores; to make pricing and offers more transparent and to provide targeted promotions to support people in the areas that are struggling most with access to affordable food.
Our Affordable Food for All campaign includes a 10-point plan of steps supermarkets can take across these three key areas to help ensure affordable food is available to everyone who needs it.
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: 'We know food prices have risen exponentially in the past year, and our inflation tracker shows the dramatic impact this is having on everyday products at the supermarket.
'Some households are already skipping meals to make ends meet, and our findings show trust in supermarkets taking a hit as many people conclude they are putting profits before the people suffering during this cost of living crisis.'
*Research was conducted by Yonder on behalf of Which? on 11-13 November 2022. A sample of 2,064 were surveyed online and weighted to be nationally representative.
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source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/shoppers-trust-in-supermarkets-falls-as-grocery-inflation-hits-15-aB4gR2R3oDfk