UK grocery inflation hit a record high in August, adding £571 to the average annual food bill, according to new data.
The research company Kantar, which tracks supermarket spending and prices, said that the cost of groceries rose at an annualised rate of 12.4 per cent in August, the fastest since the company started recording the data.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “It seems there’s no end in sight to grocery inflation as the rate at which food and drink prices are increasing continues to accelerate.”
He added that the average annual grocery bill would go from £4,610 to £5,181 if consumers did not make changes to what they buy.
Prices in categories such as milk, butter and dog food are rising especially quickly, at rates of 31 per cent, 25 per cent and 29 per cent respectively.
Consumers have been buying supermarkets own brands to save money. Overall spending on retailer own-label lines was £393mn higher during the latest four weeks, giving own brands a 51 per cent market share.
Discount supermarkets have also been doing well.
“Back at the start of the 2010s, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons together accounted for over three quarters of the sector but that traditional big four is no more,” said McKevitt.