Fierce competition drives down shop prices

SHOP prices in June fell at the fastest annual rate since at least 2006 as retailers sought to woo customers, the British Retail Consortium has said.

Prices were 1.8% lower compared with a year earlier. The BRC said this was the biggest annual fall in prices since its survey began in December 2006 and the 14th month in a row that prices have decreased.

Prices for non-food items were 3.4% lower in the month compared with 2013, while the rise in the cost of food slowed to 0.6% – its lowest pace since the research began.

The survey does not include online retailers or costs such as energy, transport and housing, which feed into the broader official consumer price inflation (CPI) measure.

Helen Dickinson, director general of the BRC said: “Fierce competition among grocers has driven food price inflation to record low levels and with some grocers having announced plans to keep prices down, consumers stand to benefit for a while to come.”