The British Retail Consortium reported on Tuesday that UK shop prices in June rose at their slowest rate since late 2021, largely due to a deceleration in food prices and a deepening deflation in non-food prices.
In June, the shop price index saw a modest increase of just 0.2% year-on-year, down from a 0.6% rise in May. This marks the lowest shop price inflation since October 2021, with the three-month average inflation standing at 0.5%.
Non-food prices experienced a sharper annual decline of 1.0% in June, compared to a 0.8% fall in May. Meanwhile, food inflation slowed to 2.5%, down from 3.2%.
June's figures revealed the most significant decrease in non-food prices since October 2021, while food inflation registered its slowest pace since December 2021.
BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson noted that retailers have heavily invested in enhancing their operations and supply chains to mitigate the impact of global economic shocks during the peak of the cost-of-living crisis. According to Dickinson, these efforts have yielded positive results.
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, added, "With uncertainty around discretionary spending, we expect intense competition across the marketplace to keep price increases as low as possible this summer."
