Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Basket sizes coming down a little bit, customers opting for cheaper products: Tesco says Britons feeling the inflation pinch

Food inflation is predicted to hit 15% this summer.

Basket sizes coming down a little bit, customers opting for cheaper products: Tesco says Britons feeling the inflation pinch

Britons are buying less, switching to cheaper products and shopping more often as they try to cope with soaring inflation, supermarket giant Tesco said on Friday, describing the market environment as "incredibly challenging".

Pessimism weighing on Britain's households has hit unprecedented levels, as wages struggle to keep pace with inflation that reached 9% in April and is heading for double digits. Food inflation is predicted to hit 15% this summer.

"We are seeing higher frequency shopping trips, so there's an elevation in the number of shopping trips, we are seeing basket sizes coming down a little bit," Tesco Chief Executive Ken Murphy told reporters after Tesco reported a fall in underlying UK sales in its first quarter.

Britain's biggest retailer, which has an over 27% share of the UK grocery market, said it was also seeing early signs of customers opting for cheaper products in areas of significant inflation.

"Those staples like pasta, bread and beans is where we're seeing customers choose to trade down to the entry level or the core own brand level product," he said.

Murphy highlighted Tesco's convenience store business and Booker wholesale division as trading well in the crisis and said the group won market share in all its markets.

But he said Tesco's observations on the changing trading dynamics came with a "health warning", given that the product mix change across the business was so far less than 1%.

MAKING SAVINGS
The Bank of England stuck to its gradual increases in interest rates on Thursday but said it was ready to act "forcefully" if needed to stamp out dangers posed by inflation it now sees topping 11%. 

A raft of industry data shows that consumers are looking to cut spending by removing more expensive meat and fish from the shopping list, reducing the amount of car journeys they make and cancelling music and TV subscriptions and repair warranties on domestic appliances.

Tesco's shares have fallen 14% so far this year but most analysts consider it best placed amongst Britain's major supermarket groups to navigate the downturn due to its buying power. The stock was down 0.2% at 0956 GMT.

It is benefiting from the popularity of its 'Clubcard Prices' loyalty scheme and the unrivalled scale of its store network and online operation.

(Reuters)

More For You

Trump

Trump said the suspect had been arrested earlier for 'terrible crimes,' including child sex abuse, grand theft auto and false imprisonment, but was released under the Biden administration because Cuba refused to take him back.

Getty Images

Trump says accused in Dallas motel beheading will face first-degree murder charge

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has described Chandra Mouli “Bob” Nagamallaiah, the Indian-origin motel manager killed in Dallas, as a “well-respected person” and said the accused will face a first-degree murder charge.

Nagamallaiah, 50, was killed last week at the Downtown Suites motel by co-worker Yordanis Cobos-Martinez, a 37-year-old undocumented Cuban immigrant with a criminal history.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer Mandelson

Starmer talks with Mandelson during a welcome reception at the ambassador's residence on February 26, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty

Starmer under pressure from party MPs after Mandelson dismissal

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer is facing questions within the Labour party after the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson was removed last week after Bloomberg published emails showing messages of support he sent following Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction for sex offences. The dismissal comes just ahead of US president Donald Trump’s state visit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

Officials greet newly-elected Prime Minister of Nepal's interim government Sushila Karki (R) as she arrives at the prime minister's office in Kathmandu on September 14, 2025. (Photo by PRABIN RANABHAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Nepal’s new leader pledges to act on Gen Z calls to end corruption

NEPAL’s new interim prime minister Sushila Karki on Sunday (14) pledged to act on protesters’ calls to end corruption and restore trust in government, as the country struggles with the aftermath of its worst political unrest in decades.

“We have to work according to the thinking of the Gen Z generation,” Karki said in her first address to the nation since taking office on Friday (12). “What this group is demanding is the end of corruption, good governance and economic equality. We will not stay here more than six months in any situation. We will complete our responsibilities and hand over to the next parliament and ministers.”

Keep ReadingShow less
UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

US president Donald Trump and UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer arrive at Trump International Golf Links on July 28, 2025 in Balmedie, Scotland. (Photo by Jane Barlow-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

UK secures £1.25bn US investment ahead of Trump’s visit

THE British government has announced over £1.25 billion ($1.69bn) in fresh investment from major US financial firms, including PayPal, Bank of America, Citigroup and S&P Global, ahead of a state visit by president Donald Trump.

The investment is expected to create 1,800 jobs across London, Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester, and deepen transatlantic financial ties, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

Protesters wave Union Jack and St George's England flags during the "Unite The Kingdom" rally on Westminster Bridge by the Houses of Parliament on September 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Nearly 150,000 join anti-migrant protest in London as clashes erupt

MORE THAN 100,000 protesters marched through central London on Saturday (13), carrying flags of England and Britain and scuffling with police in one of the UK's biggest right-wing demonstrations of modern times.

London's Metropolitan Police said the "Unite the Kingdom" march, organised by anti-immigrant activist Tommy Robinson, was attended by nearly 150,000 people, who were kept apart from a "Stand Up to Racism" counter-protest attended by around 5,000.

Keep ReadingShow less