Shoppers switching to own labels to manage inflation

British shoppers are planning to employ three main coping strategies to help combat the rising cost of living, according to new data from NielsenIQ.

This includes monitoring the cost of their overall shopping basket (26 per cent), opting for supermarket own-labels over brands (27 per cent) and shopping at the discounters more frequently (23 per cent).

The switch from brands to private label is already in motion, with value sales of supermarket own-brands up six per cent in the last 12 weeks, compared to just a 2.4 per cent rise from branded goods. Private label performed better than brand in bakery, with volume sales up 1.9 per cent, for example.

Private label now accounts for 53 per cent of FMCG spend, up from 52 per cent a year ago, according to NielsenIQ data.

There has also been a “small shift” away from fresh to frozen, with Mike Watkins, NielsenIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, suggesting there has been “slightly less spend on fruit and vegetables and fresh meat, fish and poultry and slightly more spend on impulse confectionery and soft drinks”.

Shoppers are also returning to supermarkets, with in-store visits up 6.5 per cent compared to last year, while online visits are down 9.3 per cent. Therefore, the online share of FMCG sales has fallen to 10.9 per cent, down from 11.1 per cent last month.