GROCERY deflation has hit new lows as price falls in major food categories and fierce competition between retail giants continue, says research company Kantar Worldpanel.
Its figures for the 12 weeks ending 1 March 2015, show grocery deflation reached -1.6%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “A combination of lower general inflation and the grocery price war has saved shoppers £400 million in the past 12 weeks, with deflation driven to a record low of -1.6%.
“All of the major supermarkets are cutting prices to win shoppers, especially within everyday staples such as eggs, vegetables and milk. Retailers are focusing their efforts on simple price cuts rather than complicated ‘multibuy’ deals.”
Tesco had returned its best performance in 18 months with sales up 1.1%, he said.
Asda was down 2.1%, Morrisons fell by 0.4% and Sainsbury’s was down by 0.5%.
Aldi was up 19.3%, which was its slowest rate of growth since June 2011 but took it to a record market share of 5.0%. Lidl grew 13.6% to achieve a share of 3.5%.
