Yet more bad news for UK consumers as new figures show the cost of living in Britain is steadily rising. Stats from the Office for National Statistics show that the rate of annual inflation reached 4.4% in July, and the Bank of England warn this could hit 5% before the end of the year.
Everyday essentials such as food and clothing have seen big increases with food bills rising to be 5.8% higher than a year ago and clothing seeing an increase of 4.2%. With many in the country having suffered pay freezes or, even worse, a decrease in pay, this jump in the cost of living causes Britain’s consumers to make sacrifices with regards to choosing cheaper brands or cutting back when buying everyday essentials.
James Foord of mySupermarket said:
‘In the past year, shoppers have been subject to huge price hikes, with as much as a 24 per cent increase to essentials such as cornflakes and a 13 per cent price rise to butter.
‘Sadly, inflation is far outstripping wage rises. Figures published last month for the March-May quarter showed that total pay was up by only 2.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.’
The bigger supermarkets are noticing a change in the habits of their shoppers too. Asda have reported that the number of visits to their stores by shoppers had decreased by 1.2% in the three months to June. The supermarket has suggested this has been caused by their customers being more economical with fuel. And is there any wonder with it looking very unlikely that the cost of fuel will be dropping any time soon.
Have you noticed an increase in your weekly shop? Are you having to cut back on your favourite brands? If you have any money saving tips for our readers let us know in the comments section below!
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August 17, 2023
finance