The price of a staple basket of food has risen by 16% in the last year, new figures suggest today, while consumers look set to switch brands in 2009 to save money.
According to mySupermarket.co.uk, 24 staple products are cheapest at Asda this month, including White Square Cut Thick Sliced Bread for 50p and its own Corn Flakes for 80p.
In the past year, staple items have risen by 14.7% as Tesco, it said, while the same basket is now 16.7% dearer at Sainsbury’s.
People are most willing to downshift to own brand pasta during recessional times, with an 8% increase in this category, the company added.
Spokesman Jonny Steel said: “The first analysis of 2009 shows that whilst the price of a basket of staples goods has still increased year-on-year, it is down slightly on last month, suggesting the beginning of a downward trend.
“Shoppers need to remain savvy and hunt for deals to beat the increases. In some cases this has led to shoppers swapping to cheaper own brand alternatives, and whilst there are certain products which shoppers seem unwilling to compromise on, many are surrendering their brand loyalty on favourites such as ketchup to make savings.”
Own brand cereal and baked beans also proved popular with shoppers.
Retailers are going to continue to discount prices in the coming months to offer consumers improved deals, KPMG and Synovate said on Friday.
