Shop price inflation rose 1.4% year-on-year in September, driven higher by non-food items, such as DIY and gardening products, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
This was up from 0.9% growth in August and was above the three-month average of 1% inflation, the retail trade association said.
The BRC’s latest shop price monitor showed that non-food inflation increased 0.3% on the previous month. Year-on-year non-food prices were still 0.1% lower, though this was higher than the 12-month decline 0.8% prices to August.
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, said: “A year and a half of non-food deflation looks set to come to an end, as inflationary pressures spread beyond food. DIY and gardening saw rising prices, while some back-to-school categories continued to see reductions as retailers offered promotions on electricals such as laptops ahead of the new academic year.”
Food inflation of 4.2% in September was unchanged on a year-on-year basis, compared to the previous month but was above the three-month average of 4.1%. Fresh food inflation came in at 4.1%, while ambient food prices grew by 4.2% year-on-year, both unchanged from August’s BRC data.
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Dickinson said: “Food inflation held steady after seven consecutive months of rises but increased labour and energy costs continue to push up input prices for many farmers, particularly of cattle, with dairy and beef prices remaining high.
“Households are finding shopping increasingly expensive. The impact on retailers and their supply chain of both global factors and higher national insurance and wage costs is playing out in prices for consumers.
“The new packaging tax, set to take effect in October, will put further upward pressure on inflation.”
She added that while retailers continue to absorb costs as much as possible, “any further tax rises in the upcoming budget would keep shop prices higher for longer.”
“Ultimately, it is British households who will bear the consequences – positive or negative – of the chancellor’s decisions,” said Dickinson.
The BRC warned last week that food inflation would rise and remain well above 5% into 2026 if the retail industry were hit with further tax rises in the autumn budget.
The UK’s headline rate of inflation held steady in August, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released in September. It said that the consumer prices index grew by 3.8% in August, which was unchanged from the previous month’s reading but still represented a 19-month high.
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