Food prices have fallen for the first time in more than two years as fierce competition between supermarkets drives down shopping bills.
Prices dropped 0.1pc between August and September, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), marking the first monthly decline since July 2021.
Shoppers were able to spend less on dairy, fish and vegetables last month. The BRC said intense competition between supermarkets was behind the fall in prices.
Supermarkets have announced more than 30 rounds of price cuts since the start of summer across hundreds of products, according to Telegraph analysis.
Staples such as sausages, pasta and potatoes have been the target of cuts, while more luxurious items such as smoked salmon, avocados and kale have also been reduced.
While the cost of a typical shopping basket is falling on a monthly basis, prices are still higher than they were this time last year.
Food still cost 9.9pc more than it did 12 months ago on average, the BRC said, though this is down from 11.5pc in August.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Food prices dropped on the previous month for the first time in over two years because of fierce competition between retailers.”
Beyond supermarkets, general shop inflation eased to 4.4pc in September, down from 4.7pc in August, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “We expect shop price inflation to continue to fall over the rest of the year, however there are still many risks to this trend – high interest rates, climbing oil prices, global shortages of sugar, as well as the supply chain disruption from the war in Ukraine.”
NielsenIQ, which compiled the figures with the BRC, said retailers were under pressure to continue cutting prices in the run-up to the crucial Christmas period.
Mike Watkins, at NielsenIQ, said:
Over half of households are still feeling that they are significantly impacted by the continued increases in cost of living.
So, it will be important for retail sales to keep momentum which means we can expect more price cuts and increased promotional activity across all retail channels.
