Non-food inflation also increased, rising to 5.3 per cent in February, up from 5.1 per cent in January. This is above the 3-month average rate of 4.9 per cent. Inflation rose to a fresh high in this category.
Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “Shop price inflation rose to another record high as retail prices across the board continued to react to the impact of soaring energy bills, higher running costs and tougher trading conditions brought about by the war in Ukraine.
“While we expect to see the annual inflation rate reduce in the second half of this year, retail prices will remain high over the coming months. Government must avoid any additional costs on business as this will jeopardise retailers’ ability to best support their customers and keep prices low throughout this cost-of-living crisis.”
Mike Watkins, Head of retailer and business insight, NielsenIQ, said: “With more than half (56 per cent) of UK consumers feeling they are in a worse financial position compared to a year ago and inflation still stubbornly high, many households are trimming back on non-essential spending. And as volume sales are down on last year, some retailers are having to work even harder to encourage customer spend, including additional price cuts or promotional activity. This likely to continue until consumer confidence starts to improve.”
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DP)
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