Shoppers told 'things are looking up' as supermarket price rises slow to two-year low

Supermarket price rises have slowed to their lowest rate in two years.

In February, grocery price inflation stood at 5.3 per cent - the lowest rate since March 2022 and a big drop from January's 6.8 per cent, according to analysts Kantar.

In an indication of the intensifying competition between retailers, Morrison's has become the latest shop to start a price match scheme with Aldi and Lidl. It follows Asda doing the same thing in January.

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After a slow period after Christmas, promotions increased again over the month. Shoppers spent £586 million more on them than in February last year.

Even so, people in Britain still had money to celebrate Valentine's Day. Spending on steak and boxed chocolate went up by 12 per cent and 16 per cent compared with last year.

When 'Dry January' ended, total alcohol sales jumped by 18 per cent in volume terms on the previous month. Shoppers bought 28 per cent more wine and 16 per cent more beer and lager. Red wine was especially popular, with eight million more bottles bought this month than in January.

Tom Steel, strategic insight director at Kantar, said: "Things are looking up for shoppers this February. Consumers have been dealing with a grocery inflation rate of more than 4 per cent for two years now, so this latest drop in price rises is especially welcome."

He added: "Though there's been lots of discussion about the impact the Red Sea shipping crisis might have on the cost of goods, supermarkets have been pulling out all the stops to keep prices down and help people manage their budgets."

For the sixth month in a row, Lidl was the