Non-food prices fall for 28th consecutive month

Non-food shop price deflation accelerated to 2.3% in July, which was down from the 1.9% in June and represented the 28th consecutive fall for non-food prices.  

That is according to British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen’s latest Shop Price Index, which reported deflation of 1.4% in July, which was lower than the 1.3% fall in June. On a 12-month average basis, the index reported deflation of 1.7%.

Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC, said: “Shop prices fell by 1.4% this month marking the 27th consecutive month of prices drops which is good news for consumers.

“July marked the 28th month of falling non-food prices. Clothing retailers were keen to shift their summer stock with widespread discounts clearly part of their strategy. Prices throughout this category fell on average by 4.9%.”

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, said that, along with unpredictable weather, price cuts and short term promotions, deflation in retailing has been a “big influence” on sales over the last 12 months.