Tinned food, ready meal flying off shelves as inflation bites

Tinned food and ready meals are flying off the shelves, states a recent report, as consumer budgets continue to be stretched amid the cost-of-living crisis.

In analysis of UK sales and basket size data from Amazon’s global grocery service, tinned meats, fruit and vegetables, saw double digit growth year on year as shoppers become increasingly cost-conscious. The research also shows that consumers are using private brands as a way to save money through small purchases, where they can.

Ambient and tinned ready meals were also up as Brits are trying to save both time and money.

While the majority of the top ten most popular food and drink was consistent across the country, there were some variations in food trends in different UK cities. Avocados were far more popular in London where they almost made the top ten most ordered items, in comparison to other cities where avocados lagged behind more traditional fruit.

Along with the strong performance of eggs, spinach and smoked salmon, it highlights how much the traditional breakfast has changed in the capital.

Exotic fruit and vegetables such as mangos and pak choi featured in Birmingham’s most ordered list Birmingham but didn’t feature at all in Leeds, Liverpool or Manchester’s lists of most ordered items. Liverpool residents seemed to have a love of pastries and breads with hot cross buns and crumpets featuring highly in their list of most ordered items.

“Since launching in June 2016, we’ve expanded grocery delivery to be available to millions of Prime customers across the UK, which gives insight into the shopping habits of the nation,” director of Amazon Fresh, Russell Jones said.

“Customers are clearly cost-conscious, which we can see in the growth of tinned foods, as well as the popularity of our private brand.

“It’s also fascinating to see how food favourites differ depending on where we live and how they reflect the latest trends including everything from sustainability to social media,” Jones said.