Shoppers opt for budget stores amid rising food prices

22/07/2011

As nervousness around rising food prices increases so does the number of consumers opting for cheaper brands and budget food stores.

A staggering 84 per cent of shoppers are concerned about rising food bills, according to a nationwide survey carried out by consumer watchdog, Which?

Nine in ten said they had noticed an increase in the cost of food in the past year, while a third said they had reduced spending on groceries this year.

Shoppers are also giving the organic market a wide-birth with 38 per cent fewer people buying organic meat and 43 per cent avoiding organic vegetables and fruit.

Unsurprisingly, budget grocer Aldi has seen a 20.2 per cent increase in sales compared with a year ago, while Lidl is up 15.6 per cent.

James Foord, of mySupermarket, told the Mail Online: “In the past year alone, shoppers have been subject to double-digit price hikes to the contents of their shopping trolley.

“It is imperative consumers shop around for the best deals. Savvy shoppers can switch to cheaper budget products and supermarket own labels to make their budgets stretch.”

Even if shoppers are opting for brand-own goods to save pennies, these products are also still rising in cost.

Sainsbury’s corn flakes are up 37 per cent and its iceberg lettuce will set shoppers back 18 per cent more than it did this time last year.

Tesco’s own-label butter will cost shoppers 25 per cent more now, and the price of cauliflower sold in its stores is up by 15 per cent.

The volume of food and grocery sales is down by 1.7 per cent compared with a year ago, according to retail analyst Nielsen.

But despite this, bills are rising according to Asda’s monthly income tracker which claims families were an average of £9 a week (or 5.1 per cent) worse off in June 2011 than they were a year ago.

Tags; Current UK Economy, Income Worries and Debt, Budgeting Advice, Young Family Finances,

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