Revealed: how poor paid the price of 'cheapflation'

Cost of living crisis hit prices of budget food hardest, figures show

- Larry Elliott

Britain's poorest households saw the bill for their weekly shop rise by far more than that of the richest during the height of the cost of living crisis as the sharpest price increases fell on cheaper brands, research released today reveals.

The study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that less well off people had been hardest hit by "cheapflation" in the 2021-2023 period when they paid 29.1% more for their food compared with 23.5% for better off households.

The report which lays bare the disproportionate impact of rising food prices on the poorest - has been released to coincide with the latest cost of living figures from the Office for National Statistics published today, which are forecast to show the first increase in the headline annual inflation rate since December last year.

The IFS said grocery items that were among the 10% cheapest in each spending category, including staples such as milk, pasta and butter, rose by 36% over the two years to last September, while more expensive varieties of the same items rose by just 16%.

Hard-up consumers had already responded to the squeeze on living standards by switching to bargain brands that were experiencing the biggest price rises, the IFS found.