Grocery prices in the UK have risen to 4.7% higher than a year ago, marking the highest level of supermarket inflation since March 2023, according to data from Kantar. This increase follows a rate of 4.1% last month and 3.8% in April.
Despite rising costs, British consumers made 490 million supermarket trips in the last month, averaging nearly 17 per household—the highest recorded by Kantar since March 2020. Take-home grocery sales grew by 4.1% compared with the same period last year, though the average amount spent per trip fell by 3p to £23.89.
Volumes dipped slightly by 0.4% year-on-year, the first decline this year. Kantar suggests this may partly be due to changing health priorities, including the growing use of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, noted that four in 100 households now include a GLP-1 user, nearly double last year, potentially influencing purchasing choices.
Consumer price concerns persist, with sales of own-label ranges growing 4.2% ahead of branded lines. Among grocers, Ocado led growth at 12.2%, while Lidl was the fastest-growing bricks-and-mortar retailer at 11.2%, reaching an 8.1% market share. Aldi increased its share to 10.9% with 6.5% sales growth, and Tesco gained 0.5 percentage points to 28.1%. Asda saw sales fall 1.7% year-on-year, holding an 11.9% share.
