Stretched households in Britain have been given a bit of a reprieve as consumer goods and clothing prices have dropped considerably.
The fall in June was at the steepest rate in the last eight years and the 14th consecutive month of declines.
The overall price of items at the till fell by 1.8% compared with June last year. Non-food items dropped 3.4%, the price of clothing came down by 13.7% and electrical goods were 4% lower, according to the British Retail Consortium.
Food prices, however, were going up, but only by 0.6% in June.
Analysts say that the middle classes’ conversion to discounters such as Aldi and Lidl are in part responsible for the fall in prices. To compete, traditional supermarkets Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons have cut their prices.
Aldi and Lidl’s combined market share is 8.3p in every pound spent on groceries, up from 7.6p just last year.
This change resulted from the banking crisis which changed spending habits for a great many. It has been helped by Aldi winning awards for some of its products, such as wine and Christmas pudding.
The discounters are also upping their game by opening outlets in affluent areas of the UK.
The low prices are expected to continue for another year at least as shops will have to continue to offer competitive prices.
The figures are only for food and consumer goods. UK inflation remained at 1.5% due to increasing fuel, utility and other household bills.
