The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen have released figures showing that shop prices have fallen 1.4% year-on-year in July which will be the 27th consecutive month.
Figures also show that in July food prices increased 0.4% compared to the same period the previous year, while non-food deflation rocketed from 1.9% in June to 2.3%.
Helen Dickinson, BRC director general said: “Annual food prices did rise very marginally this month, by just 0.1% year-on-year, this is a short-term blip in the longer term downward trend, reflecting the on-going heightened levels of competition and it is not very significant.”
Also commenting, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, Mike Watkins said: “Deflation in retailing has been a big influence on sales over the last 12 months, as has the unpredictable weather, price cuts and short term promotions. In food retailing, whilst ambient prices are becoming more stable, many fresh foods are again cheaper than this time last year and there have been some attractive sales and offers across non-food retailing in recent weeks. Shoppers are saving money which is helping consumer spend in the wider economy.”
