Watchdog steps up grocery prices review  

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it is stepping up of its work in the grocery sector to understand whether any failure in competition is contributing to grocery prices being higher than they would be in a well-functioning market.

The agency has launched review of the unit pricing practices online and in-store in the groceries sector in January in the backdrop of the increasing cost of living pressures. Unit pricing shows how much a particular product costs by weight or volume, which helps people identify best value for money.

Providing an update of the review on Monday, the CMA said it has not seen evidence at this stage pointing to specific competition concerns in the sector, but added that it is important to be sure that weak competition is not adding to the problems.

The new phase of its work will cover how competition is working overall in the grocery retail market, drawing on publicly available data and other information and, in parallel, identifying which product categories, if any, might merit closer examination across the supply chain.

“The rising cost of living is putting people and businesses under sustained financial pressure. The CMA is determined to do what it can to ensure competition helps contain these pressures as much as possible,” Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said.

“Grocery and food shopping are essential purchases. We recognise that global factors are behind many of the grocery price increases, and we have seen no evidence at this stage of specific competition problems. But, given ongoing concerns about high prices, we are stepping up our work in the grocery sector to help ensure competition is working well and people can exercise choice with confidence.”