British shoppers are switching from fresh to frozen food as they curb spending amid the cost of living crisis, retail data shows.
The rising cost of weekly shopping was the main factor weighing on British households, with food price inflation at 18.2% due to high energy prices and a shortage of salad vegetables due to bad weather in Europe.
In response, many shoppers are going to great lengths to avoid paying higher prices, according to retail data and surveys published by the BBC. Shoppers turned to frozen foods in particular. The strongest demand was for frozen chicken, for example, with volumes up 5.9% in the 12 weeks to March 20, according to a survey by British retail analysts Kantar. Sales of frozen convenience foods, including prepared meals, pizzas, and fries, rose 2.6%. Frozen food volumes remained stable, although shoppers bought less. The total food trade fell by 4%, while frozen products were flat, BBC data showed for the same period.
According to the Office for National Statistics, food price inflation in the UK was 18.2 percent in February. It was the fastest increase in food prices since August 1977, when it was estimated at 21.9% in modelling by statisticians. In supermarkets, frozen food has currently performed “significantly better” than fresh, Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer at Kantar UK, told the BBC. “And some of that is clearly related to the cost of living,” he added.
A quarter of UK shoppers say they are buying more frozen food, according to a survey of 2,000 UK adults by pollster Opinium for Zipzero, an app that collects shoppers receipts for cash.
The survey also found that 30 percent of people buy more food from reduced supermarket sections to save money, and 21 percent buy less meat and fish. Zizero CEO Mohsin Rashid said, “High food inflation has always changed consumption patterns. Britons are being forced to drastically change where they shop. What they buy is also changing
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“Whether it’s trying cheaper brands, switching to a vegetarian diet, or stocking up on frozen produce, British consumers are finding smart ways to cut their food costs. But at the end of the day, there’s only so much saving Britons can do.
Kantar said frozen food specialist Iceland also performed strongly in the battle for market share, taking it to 2.3% of UK groceries in 12 weeks
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