Could a UK HN'er give a first-hand perspective? I'm curious to hear what it's like "on the ground" in your area, versus what a government or industry announcement might say.<p>At least for the US, it's a lot more nuanced than "inflation is X%" -- certain things are consistently more expensive, others are more variable, and others yet are cheaper/the same price. I'd like to understand if it's the same there.
Link broken, here’s different source:<p><i>Inflation unexpectedly dipped to 9.9% in August, down from 10.1% in July, on the back of a fuel price decline.<p>Increasing food, transport and energy prices were the biggest contributing factors to inflation, the ONS said. Food was up 14.6% year-on-year, transport was up 10.9% compared to last year, while the price of furniture and household goods rose 10.8%.</i><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/19/uk-inflation-rate-rises-to-10point1percent-as-food-and-energy-prices-continue-surge.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/19/uk-inflation-rate-rises-to-1...</a>
It's not UK, but I get the feeling this isn't so much inflation as opportunistic behavior. See grocery corporation CEOs bragging about price gouging under the cover of "inflation" during investor calls, <a href="https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/17/united-states-vs-vons/#pricing-power" rel="nofollow">https://pluralistic.net/2022/10/17/united-states-vs-vons/#pr...</a><p>>As Kroger CEO told his shareholders: "a little bit of inflation is always good in our business" because it lets him raise prices and "customers don’t overly react."<p>Over 50% of the rise in prices for groceries during the pandemic are from corporate profits. Raises in input costs (38%) and labor (7%) made up most of the rest. When the price raise is 50% increased profit during a time where a large fraction cannot afford enough to eat this is price gouging. It is extremely clear. <a href="https://www.salon.com/2022/10/19/katie-porter-pulls-out-chart-at-hearing-to-show-corporate-greed-is-the-biggest-driver-of-inflation_partner/" rel="nofollow">https://www.salon.com/2022/10/19/katie-porter-pulls-out-char...</a> <a href="https://porter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=498" rel="nofollow">https://porter.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID...</a>
It's (likely) exacerbated by the pound tanking, the Eurozone is similarly affected. I visited Switzerland recently after a year off and the price hikes are there too, but not as noticeable as in other countries in Europe.
Apologies for the wrong URL, the correct URL is:<p><a href="https://www.kantar.com/uki/inspiration/fmcg/2022-wp-uk-grocery-price-inflation-hits-record-14-7-and-still-too-early-to-call-the-ceiling" rel="nofollow">https://www.kantar.com/uki/inspiration/fmcg/2022-wp-uk-groce...</a>
The link goes to a contact us page on my phone.<p>I assume that it's a combination of the war in Ukraine and other factors contributing to inflation.<p>And that people will respond saying the war has nothing to do with it. But I think they are in denial.
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen?<p>Well, the lamb now costs £5.19/kg. [1] 'Dem pleasant pastures be getting expensive.<p>[1] <a href="https://ahdb.org.uk/gb-deadweight-sheep-prices" rel="nofollow">https://ahdb.org.uk/gb-deadweight-sheep-prices</a>
>Food and drink spending is generally non-discretionary so it’s not easy for shoppers to cut back.<p>I would bet that the majority of spending by nearly all people in the supermarket is discretionary spending.<p>It isn't the bread veg and meat that push the bill up for me, it's the alcohol, Sweet things etc, and that's ignoring all the stuff on the centre isles.<p>So I don't really agree with this statement at all<p>edit:<p>I am wrong, posted below, but I'll put it here too.<p>the uk spends £117.97 on food and non alcoholic drinks annually
<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1110322/fsp-csv1_6-11oct22.csv/preview" rel="nofollow">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...</a><p>£27 billion on alcohol consumption in the home <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/281935/spending-on-alcoholic-drinks-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-since-2005/" rel="nofollow">https://www.statista.com/statistics/281935/spending-on-alcoh...</a><p>savory snacks seem to be around £3bn, sweets around £6bn, and the soft drink market around £10bn<p>So it doesn't really get close, no matter how you slice it.<p>total supermarket spend is £188bn<p><a href="https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-size/supermarkets/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ibisworld.com/united-kingdom/market-size/superma...</a><p>So actual food still makes up the majority of sales, which im surprised by.