Source: Sharecast
According to Worldpanel by Numerator, like-for-like grocery price inflation rose to 4.3% in the four weeks to 22 February, up from January’s nine-month low of 4%. It also reversed a downward trend which had seen inflation ease in each of the previous four months.
Driving February’s increase were higher prices for fresh unprocessed meat, skincare and chocolate confectionary. In contrast, prices fell fastest in butter and spreads, household paper and sugar confectionary.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: "Looking ahead to Easter, shoppers will notice that chocolate prices remain high, up 9.3% year-on-year."
However, he added that despite February’s "significant" rise, the pace of inflation in the category was now starting to ease.
Take-home grocery sales, meanwhile, increased 3.4% over the same period, with an especially strong showing online, where sales rose 9.7% year-on-year. More than 18m orders were placed over the four weeks, taking online’s share to 13%, the highest since July 2021.
McKevitt noted: "More affluent families in London and the south east are still the most likely to shop for groceries online. However, the channel’s appeal is broadening, with shoppers from a wider range of economic backgrounds increasingly drawn to its convenience."
Among individual grocers, online-only Ocado Group saw sales surge 15.1% in the 12 weeks to 22 February, giving it a market share of 2.1%.
The second-biggest increase in sales was seen at discounter Lidl, where they rose 10%, boosting its market share to 7.8%. At larger rival Aldi, sales ticked up 3.1%, adding to its 10.1% market share.
J Sainsbury and John Lewis Partnership-owned Waitrose also saw solid increases in sales, up 5.2% and 5.6% respectively.
Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket with a market share of 28.5%, posted a 4.5% rise. Sainsbury’s is Tesco’s closest rival, with a 16.1% market share.
At Marks & Spencer Group, grocery sales were 7% higher. However, because it has a far higher proportion of general merchandising in its sales mix, M&S is not included in the overall data.
Separate data released by the British Retail Consortium and NIQ on Tuesday showed broader shop price inflation ticked up 1.1% in February, down on January’s 1.5% uplift. Within that, food inflation softened to 3.5% from 3.9%.