The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) says that recent figures from the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index are encouraging for retailers.
Speaking about the report, which can be downloaded here, Bira’s ceo Andrew Goodacre added that retailers were ‘doing their bit’ to grow consumer confidence.
“It is encouraging to see further rates of decline in inflation across food and non-food,” he stated. “I believe this reflects retailers continuing to discount in order to maintain consumer spending. With retailers doing their bit to grow consumer confidence, we hope that the Chancellor uses his Budget on March 6 to do the same.”
Continued Andrew: “We need a Budget that will focus on economic growth to further boost consumer confidence. We also need the Bank of England to adopt a similar approach and start to reduce interest rates.”
Bira highlighted that:
- Shop Price annual inflation eased to 2.5% in February, down from 2.9% in January. This is below the 3 month average rate of 3.3%. Shop price annual growth is its lowest since March 2022.
- Non-Food inflation was unchanged at 1.3% in February. This is below the 3 month average rate of 2.0%. Inflation is its lowest since January 2022.
- Food inflation decelerated to 5.0% in February, down from 6.1% in January. This is below the 3 month average rate of 6.0% and is the tenth consecutive deceleration in the food category. Inflation is its lowest since May 2022.
Top: Bira says that retailers are helping to boost consumer confidence.
