Little change between months for Christmas season
PRICE inflation across the UK remained largely unchanged during the December, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Covering the year to the end of December, the consumer price index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) rose to 3.5%, with no change to the figure from the end of November.
There were some positives to take away from the monthly change to CPIH; alcohol and tobacco products saw a drop of 1.5% between the months and sat at 5.3% in the year to the end of December.
Further to this, food and non-alcoholic beverages maintained its 2% figure from November, with price falls across breads & cereals and mineral water, soft drinks and juices, though this was offset by an increase in the costs of fruit and sugar, jam, honey, syrups, chocolate and confectionery.
Housing and household services – including energy costs – saw an increase in December when it sat at 6%, a marginal jump from November’s 5.8%. This was driven primarily by household costs, says the ONS, though motor fuels did also add to the increase.
Despite this, consumers were still willing to spend during the Christmas season according to Kantar data.
Over the four weeks to 29 December, take-home groceries spending hit a record high at Christmas, with households spending an average £460 during the season. This was reflected in the overall take-home sales at the grocers, which rose by 2.1% during the time period.
Consumers were also willing to spend a little more during the Christmas season, as sales growth for branded goods accelerated to 4.2% during the four weeks, while premium own-label lines jumped by 14.6%.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “It was a solid Christmas at the supermarkets with sales surpassing £13billion during the four weeks of December for the first time ever, showing people were clearly in the mood to celebrate and spend.
“However, despite the festive cheer, grocery price inflation has ticked up to 3.7%, its highest level since March 2024.
“In contrast to report of disappointing footfall across the rest of the high street, it was a very different story in the world of grocery. The average household made nearly 17 separate shopping trips this December, delivering the busiest month for the retailers since the pre-lockdown rush in March 2020.
“As anticipated, Monday 23 December was the most popular shopping day of the year, with sales a whopping 30% higher than any other day during 2024.”
