UK Shop Price Inflation Rises 1.2% in March

UK shop price inflation rose 1.2% year-on-year in March 2026, up from 1.1% in February but slightly below market expectations of 1.3%, as the impact of the Middle East conflict began to ripple through prices. Food inflation eased to 3.4% from 3.5% in February, matching the three-month average, while non-food inflation remained steady at 0.1% in March after a 0.1% decline in February. Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Higher costs resulting from the conflict in the Middle East are starting to feed into supply chains. While retailers will work with their suppliers to mitigate the impact on prices as far as possible, inflation will rise, although there are no indications it will reach the peaks of the last spike in April 2023.”

UK shop price inflation rose 1.1% year-on-year in February 2026, down from 1.5% in January, as intense competition among retailers kept price gains in check and shoppers benefited from promotions across health, beauty and fashion categories. Non-food product prices fell 0.1% year-on-year, reversing January’s 0.3% increase. Overall food inflation eased slightly to 3.5% from 3.9% in January, with fresh food prices up 4.3% versus last February, marginally below January’s 4.4% but still above the three-month average of 4.2%. Meanwhile, lower global costs drove ambient food inflation down to 2.3%, its lowest level in four years and a sharp decline from January’s 3.1%. Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, noted: “Households got some welcome relief in February as shop price inflation eased. While the direction of travel is promising, prices are still rising, and many consumers remain under pressure.”

UK shop price inflation rose 1.5% year-on-year in January 2026, the highest level since February 2024 and well above expectations of a 0.7% increase, as higher business energy costs and the National Insurance hike continued to feed through to prices. Non-food prices rose 0.3% year-on-year in January, reversing a 0.6% decline in December and compared with a three-month average fall of 0.3%. Food inflation accelerated to 3.9% in January from 3.3% in December, exceeding the three-month average of 3.4%. Fresh food inflation picked up to 4.4% from 3.8%, while ambient food inflation rose to 3.1% from 2.5%, both above recent averages. BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said shop price inflation jumped due to elevated energy costs and tax increases, with meat, fish and fruit particularly affected amid weak supply and stronger demand.