The UK’s 10 fastest falling shopping categories

Rolling tobacco

▼ 18.7%

Rolling tobacco has shifted 1.5 million fewer kilos. That’s down to factors such as the cost of living crisis, and the rise of vaping.

Oils

▼ 17.8%

A squeeze on availability has driven up the price of edible oils – which in turn has driven down volumes by 29.1 million litres.

Cigarettes & cigars

▼ 14.9%

As the government plans to create a “smoke-free future”, ciggies and cigars have seen 150.1 million fewer packs go through tills.

Frozen cakes & desserts

▼ 14.1%

HFSS legislation has resulted in non-compliant products losing aisle end freezer space. Hence this category seeing volumes fall by 4.2 million kilos.

Handheld ice cream

▼ 13.9%

Patchy summer weather and a clampdown on HFSS goods are two key drivers of handheld ice cream’s volume decline.

Champagne

▼ 13.5%

Champers has well and truly lost its fizz. As Brits rein in spending, the category has seen 1.3 million litres wiped out in grocery.

Babymilk

▼ 12.9%

As the country’s birth rate is falling, average price per pack of baby formula is rocketing. No wonder the category has lost 7.9 million packs.

Surface care

▼ 12.0%

When times are tight, shoppers see household cleaning as an easy category to remove from their baskets. Surface care is down 23.2 million units.

Laundry detergent

▼ 11.5%

As with surface care, laundry detergent has fallen prey to the habits of price-sensitive consumers. Pricier brands have driven decline here.

Fabric conditioner

▼ 11.3%

Big names like Lenor and Comfort have been hit hard as fabric conditioner volumes have plunged by 23.1 million litres.