Non-food shop prices continue to fall in March

Non-food prices in the UK continued to fall in march, as overall shop prices reported deflation of 1.7% during the month from the 2% decline in February.

The latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen Shop Price Index, found that non-food deflation rose to 2.6% in March from the 3% fall in February – the 36th consecutive month that non-food prices fell.

Meanwhile, food deflation remained at 0.4% for the second consecutive month.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive at the BRC, said overall shop prices as a result of continuing intense competition” and retailers ongoing investment in price.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at Nielsen, said: “Shoppers are still making changes to how they spend to stay within their household budget and looking out for price cuts and promotions is one of the ways to save money. “

“With shop prices continuing to be lower than a year ago this is good news for shoppers. With Spring arriving, retailers will be hoping that this drives store traffic as so far this year, retail sales have been rather unpredictable.”