Grocery inflation has dropped to its lowest level since September 2021, according to data from market research firm Kantar.
Falling price inflation helped fuel sales of branded products by 3.6%, outpacing grocery stores’ own-label products, which grew at 2.7%.
This drop coincided with a swift increase in monthly footfall this year, as UK shoppers undertook 2% more trips to the supermarket this period than they did one year ago.
England’s journey through the Euros saw football fans pushing up beer sales by an average of 13% on days when the team played, compared to the same day in the preceding week.
Supermarket promotions to attract football fans during Euro 2024 sparked stronger competition between chains in areas such as beer and snacks.
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However, with many matches played on “school nights”, Britons apparently chose moderation, sending spending on non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer up by 38% on match days.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “England’s hopes might have been dashed on Sunday, but there was still some cause for celebration in the grocery industry.
“Sales of crisps and snacks also got a boost, up by 5% compared with the month before.”
Prices did rise in markets such as vitamins/minerals/supplements and chilled fruit juices and were falling fastest in toilet rolls, butter and dog food categories.
When it comes to retailers, Tesco (TSCO.L) achieved its biggest gain in market share in nearly three years it extended its lead as Britain’s largest supermarket, according to industry figures.
The retailer took 27.7% of the market, data from Kantar showed. This was a 0.7 percentage point increase compared with last year, marking its biggest gain since November 2021.
Waitrose gained market share for the first time since January 2022, achieving a 0.1 percentage point rise to 4.5% as spending at the upmarket grocer increased by 3.3%.
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Ocado (OCDO.L) was the fastest-growing grocer for the fifth month in a row, with sales up by 10.7% over the 12 weeks to 7 July.
The main data was published just 24 hours before official inflation figures for June are to be released.
Economists widely expect the consumer prices index measure to ease to 1.9% from 2% the previous month.
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