New data reveals food spend is down across multiple channels – and there is more going on than the usual story of consumers trading down to save.

Data from Spendmapper for The Grocer shows total spend on food and drink rose by an anaemic 1.8% in the first three months of the year versus the same period last year, well behind inflation and pointing to a real-terms fall in volume. Foodservice is taking the worst hit. But even grocery, one of the better performers, is growing below the rate of inflation.