Morrisons picked up its second pricing victory in a month in another close week at the supermarkets.
It was fresh products that gave the Bradford-based retailer the edge, with the price-cut Galbani Italian burrata, spring onions and vine tomatoes three of its four exclusively cheapest items. A £1 discount on Kettle Chips crisps helped it bag a narrow victory over Asda.
At £82.87, Morrisons’ basket was the only one to cost less than a year ago, with deflation of 0.6%, thanks to promotions that totalled £8.25 and reduced its overall price by 10%.
Asda (£83.33) was just 0.6% behind. It was cheapest for 18 items and exclusively so for 10 of those, including the premium own-label lasagne and haddock fillets. However, at £3.25, its discounts were the shallowest and its basket cost 4% more than the same items last year.
Inflation was greater at all the other supermarkets. Tesco (£84.95) was 2.5% dearer than Morrisons with a basket that cost 6.3% more than last year.
Sainsbury’s £86.16 basket cost 4% more than Morrisons and 7.4% more than a year ago. Only its garlic flatbread and Dr Pepper were exclusively cheapest this week.
Waitrose (£99.09) cost 7.2% more than a year ago, and was 19.6% dearer than Morrisons. It price-matched just four cheapest items this week – the olive oil spread, duster, peanut butter and lager – but didn’t have the edge on any.
Across the five retailers, the basket average total cost 4.9% more than a year ago. That is above the official ONS inflation figure of 3.7% and moving in the direction of the FDF’s warning that food inflation could reach between 9% and 10% by the end of the year if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Easy peelers cost 11% more than a year ago, and 8% more than they did before the start of the Iran conflict.
No comments yet