Fall in grocery basket prices slows in May
New research has shown that the cost of a weekly grocery basket at supermarkets continued to fall in May albeit at a slower rate than in previous months.
According to MySupermarket’s Groceries Tracker, an average basket of products fell by just -0.10% to £86.60 in May compared to April where the same basket would have cost shoppers £86.69. This is a slower fall compared to the full 1% reduction in prices seen in March.
The tracker, which monitors the cost of the same 35 most commonly bought grocery products, shows that May’s basket of groceries was still £5.46, or 6%, cheaper compared to May 2014.
The cost of broccoli fell by 13%, onions by 5% and mushrooms by 3%. The products that increased the most were apples, fruit juices and tomatoes, which all rose by 2%, while the cost frozen pizza climbed by 4%.
Gilad Simhony, chief executive of MySupermarket, said: “Whilst it is always encouraging to see a fall in prices, this is markedly slower than previous months. The recent deflation announcement was expected to be short lived and the figures we see in the last month might be a reflection of the normalisation of prices at the supermarkets. It is important that shoppers keep an eye on the price of their favourite products as the difference across the supermarkets can be significant.”
MySupermarket’s Own Brand Watch for May shows that Morrisons and Aldi were the most competitive, taking the mantle of cheapest in 10 out of 13 departments. Meanwhile, Asda was found to be cheapest in the snacks and sweets category.
