Shoppers in the UK expect food prices to rise over the next 12 months, and are prepared to switch to discount grocery retailers to help manage their budgets.
That is the verdict of a new study by analyst IGD, which has reported that 90 per cent of respondents to a recent ShopperTrack study said that they expected food prices to be more expensive in the year ahead.
As a result, shoppers are planning to use several strategies to help cope with rising prices, with 29 per cent saying they would use more discount retailers and 16 per cent set to do more shopping at frozen food specialists.
The ShopperTrack survey also showed that older shoppers were more likely than younger ones to expect food inflation to rise, while shoppers with secondary school children were more likely to increase their use of grocery discounters.
'The vast majority of shoppers believe that food inflation is set to increase over the next 12 months,' said Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD. 'They are not taking it lying down and instead are prepared to sacrifice some of their time by shopping around at different retail formats, from discounters to frozen food stores, to get the best deals.
'Although shoppers are looking for value, they are still interested in maintaining their values and are prepared to pay for this: nearly half of shoppers (49 per cent) say supporting local or British products is important to them when choosing what groceries to buy,' she added. 'But shoppers in some parts of Britain are more focused on price: those in Scotland are the most likely of any region to focus on saving on money in the year ahead.
However, Denney-Finch noted that, even with the constant talk of doom and gloom, shoppers indicated that they were still prepared to spend, with eight out of ten respondents saying they would pay extra for premium quality groceries every now and then.
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