Grocery Shopping Bills Could Increase by £180 This Year

The average cost of grocery bills could increase by as much as £180 over the course of this year, according to a new set of figures.

Kantar UK, a consultancy firm, has estimated that the average consumer’s grocery shops will be up by nearly £200 if current trends in inflation persist over the coming year.

That estimate is based on data suggesting the costs of a typical shopping basket increased by around 3.8 per cent in the four weeks prior to January 23rd.

However, there are potential reasons to worry that prices might rise even more sharply, with the headline rate of inflation across the UK put at 5.4 per cent for the month of December 2021.

That figure of 5.4 per cent for December represents the highest level of inflation recorded since 1992 and it’s now well-established that households nationwide are feeling their finances squeezed by rising costs of living.

“Prices are rising on many fronts, and the weekly shop is no exception,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar UK.

“Taken over the course of a 12-month period, this 3.8 per cent rise in prices could add an extra £180 to the average household’s annual grocery bill.

“We’re now likely to see shoppers striving to keep costs down by searching for cheaper products and promotions.”

A major driving force behind increases to the cost of living in recent months has been rising energy bills, which are expected to soar still further in the coming weeks.

Huge numbers of Scots have been finding it tough to make their monthly energy bill payments this winter and some estimates suggest that roughly a third of Scottish households now consider their gas and electricity bills to be unaffordable.

Worryingly, recent research by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) indicated that close to 400,000 people in Scotland would consider their homes difficult to heat, which for many is a big reason why their energy bills are so high.

The CAS is calling for homes across Scotland to be better insulated so that fewer people find themselves struggling each winter with the costs associated with heating their homes.

“The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use - better insulated homes mean people don’t have to pay as much,” explained Kate Morrison from the CAS in a recent statement.

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