More shoppers noticing ‘shrinkflation’, ‘drinkflation’

More than a fifth of Britons had noticed the lower strength of their beer under what is being termed as "drinkflation", states a recent report by Barclays.

More than one in five Brits (22 per cent) said they have noticed that some of the alcoholic drinks they buy – such as beers, spirits and tinned cocktails – have become weaker or contain less alcohol, yet still cost the same or more than they used to, otherwise known as ‘drinkflation’.

“With value for money still a major concern, consumers are spotting signs of drinkflation- shrinkflation on alcoholic drinks," Esme Harwood said. "This could be due to manufacturers making changes to their products ahead of the recent changes to alcohol duty, which mean that drinks are now taxed according to strength rather than type.”

Harwood's comments are the part of recent Barclay report which states that consumer card spending in supermarkets rose considerably less in July (5.2 per cent) than in June (9.8 per cent), as the rate of food price inflation continued to slow after peaking in March.

A slightly higher proportion of Brits had noticed examples of ‘shrinkflation’ in July (73 per cent) compared to June (70 per cent), with chocolate (56 per cent), crisps (49 per cent) and packets of biscuits (46 per cent) remaining the products most frequently cited as being impacted by this growing trend. As a result, a fifth (21 per cent) of the shoppers who have noticed signs of shrinkflation are switching to brands which haven’t changed the size of their products.

However, concern around rising food prices remains high at 91 per cent, leading seven in 10 (70 per cent) shoppers to look for ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop – the highest percentage so far this year, the data shows.

Of these value-seeking Brits, 13 per cent said they are having to remove some items at the checkout to avoid going over budget.

To help save money, more than a third (35 per cent) said they are buying items in bulk because they cost less in the long-term, and four in 10 (41 per cent) are shopping at multiple stores to source a range of deals. Concerns around food prices and the rising cost of living are also impacting economic confidence as just one-in-five (21 per cent) report feeling confident in the strength of the UK economy, down 2 per cent month-on-month in July.