Soaring food inflation pushed households to spend more than £12bn on groceries over the Christmas period, the highest amount on record, figures show (The Times £).
In a clear indication of how soaring prices are hammering household budgets, the latest monthly report from retail analysts Kantar showed that despite the overall amount shoppers spent rising more than 9%, the volume of sales was down 1% on the same month in 2021 (The Guardian).
Aldi and Lidl were the strongest performing supermarkets in the 12 weeks to 25 December, new data from Kantar reveals (The Mail).
Morrisons was the major loser among British supermarkets over Christmas as shoppers flocked to rivals (The Mail).
The market report in The Times (£) calls shares in the grocers “attractive” as investors filled their baskets with supermarket stocks following the latest Kantar data.
The Lex column in The Financial Times (£) tackles the latest Kantar data and says supermarkets are “taking an inflationary bullet for Team GB. “Major grocery store chains fearing political backlash have shied away from passing on full-fat price increases,” the paper writes.
Sainsbury’s will become the first big supermarket to pay shop-floor staff £11 an hour as it brought forward its annual pay review by a month in response to cost of living pressures (The Financial Times £).
The supermarket chain said it was awarding the 7.3% rise to 127,000 workers, up from £10.25 an hour previously, which will be implemented early in February (The Guardian).
Sky News reports Wilko, which last year warned that it could run out of cash, has obtained a loan from Hilco UK, the owner of Homebase and Cath Kidston.
UK discount retailer Wilko has secured fresh funding and replaced the granddaughter of the company’s founder as chair as it moves to protect its future after a turbulent period (The Financial Times £).
The granddaughter of Wilko’s founder has stepped down as chairwoman of the retailer after the company secured emergency funding to avert a cash crunch at the business (The Times £).
The legal battle for control of the National Lottery, which appeared to have been concluded in November when Camelot cashed in its chips, has been revived by the company’s technology partner (The Times £).
The first ever strike by UK workers at online giant Amazon is to be held later this month, it has been announced (BBC News).
Amazon has raised the number of employees it plans to eliminate from its corporate workforce to “just over 18,000”, chief executive Andy Jassy said, as the company looks to rein in costs (The Financial Times £).
The world’s largest retailer, which rode a surge in demand at the height of the pandemic, is now moving to cut costs amid cooling demand and fears of recession (The Times £).
Its chief executive, Andy Jassy, said in a note to employees: “Between the reductions we made in November and the ones we’re sharing today, we plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles.” (The Guardian)
A gadget that can test when an avocado is perfectly ripe has been unveiled at the world’s biggest gadget show in Las Vegas (The Telegraph). The OneThird Ripeness Checker was demonstrated at the Consumer Electronics Show convention, the annual gathering of consumer technology enthusiasts.
Cough and cold medicines are in short supply because of a lack of planning by the government, pharmacy leaders say (The Times £).
Credit card borrowing in the UK soared in November to its highest monthly level since 2004 amid mounting pressure on households from the cost of living crisis (The Guardian).
Lower energy prices helped push inflation down in France, as European stocks rose on growing expectations that inflation has peaked across the region (The Financial Times £).
Inflation in Germany fell more sharply than expected last month, offering hope that the worst of the crisis may be over in Europe’s biggest economy (The Mail).
Inflation in the US has not “turned the corner yet” and it is too early for the Federal Reserve to declare victory in its fight against soaring prices, a top IMF official has warned (The Financial Times £).
US policymakers have expressed concern over the risk of “misperception” that the Federal Reserve was weakening its resolve to curb inflation as they slowed the rate of interest rate rises last month (The Times £).
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