Grocery price inflation has slowed to its lowest rate in nearly two years, with supermarket prices rising by 2.1% in the four weeks to 9 August. This figure, reported by market research company Worldpanel by Numerator, is down from 2.6% in the previous month and marks the slowest increase since October 2024.
Shoppers increasingly turned to promotional deals to manage costs, with nearly one-third (31.3%) of all sales across UK supermarkets coming from promotions. This represents the highest level recorded this year.
During last month's heatwaves, consumers increased spending on picnic items such as potato salad, olives, and coleslaw. Ice-cream sales also saw a rise, with ice-cream and sorbet products posting a 26% increase in sales, and frozen fruit sales soaring by 48%.
Overall grocery spending fell by an average of £14.24 per shopper over the four weeks compared to the previous period, which included the men's football World Cup. Convenience stores also experienced their strongest sales growth in over a year, at 3.6% compared to the same period in 2025, according to NielsenIQ.
Online food shopping continued to grow, with e-commerce sales reaching £2.1bn, marking a 10% increase in value and a 5% rise in individual item sales.