‘Impulse purchase on decline as shoppers limiting grocery spend’

Impulse purchasing is on the decline as most Brits (54 per cent) are imposing limits on how much they spend at the supermarket as inflation continues to touch 40-years-high level 

According to Ubamarket’s latest Retail Trends Report, consumers are prioritising purchasing only essential grocery items. While 60 per cent of Brits have spread their weekly food shop across multiple retailers to keep expenditure down, 55 per cent don’t think supermarkets are doing enough to help consumers alleviate food price inflation. 

A further 64 per cent don’t think supermarket price matching and on-shelf offers go far enough and 53 per cent said that loyalty points scheme no longer help with cutting the cost of a weekly food shop, stated the report. 

Ubamarket CEO Will Broome said, “It’s no surprise that consumers are feeling let down by the grocery sector.” 

“With prices still rising, Brits are facing a tough Christmas ahead, and many will be managing their budgets more closely than at the start of the cost-of-living crisis.” 

“Supermarket chains and suppliers rely on narrow profit margins, and while most of the retail sector have felt the effects of the rising rate of inflation, consumer goods and foods have felt a much stronger impact,” Broome added. 

“Suppliers will typically request small price increases, now we see suppliers requesting up to 10 per cent increments to fight inflation, which is directly passed on to the consumer – at the end of the day it becomes a tug-of-war on profits and the burden lies with the consumer.” 

This comes as food price inflation hit a new peak of 12.4 per cent in November as a result of the soaring price of basics such as meat, eggs, dairy and coffee.