(Alliance News) - Grocery price inflation has hit another new record high in the UK, the latest market survey from Kantar revealed on Tuesday, with the data analytics firm saying it is "still too early" to call a ceiling on inflation.

In the 12 weeks to October 30, take-home grocery sales rose by 13.4% against the previous year. Meanwhile, in the four-weeks to October 30, price inflation hit a record high of 14.7%.

Prices are rising the fastest in product areas such as margarine, milk, and dog food.

"Yet again, we have a new record high figure for grocery price inflation and it's too early right now to call the top. Consumers face a GBP682 jump in their annual grocery bill if they continue to buy the same items and just over a quarter of all households [27%] now say they're struggling financially, which is double the proportion we recorded last November," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail & consumer insight at Kantar.

Kantar's data is based on over 75,000 identical products compared year-on-year in the proportions purchased by British shoppers. It is a 'pure' inflation measure in that shopping behaviour is held constant between the two comparison periods.

Own-labels sales jumped by 10% in the past four weeks, while the very cheapest value own-label ranges soared by 42% as shoppers look for ways to reduce costs amid the cost-of-living crisis, Kantar said.

In addition, with economic forecasters warning of a recession, discount food retailers Aldi and Lidl saw their market share grow.

Aldi was the fastest growing UK grocer in the latest period, with sales increasing by 22.7% year-on-year to hold 9.2% of market share, up from 7.9% the previous year.

Low-budget peer Lidl wasn't far behind, with sales growing by 21.5% against the prior year, taking its market share to a new high of 7.2% from 6.2% previously.

Among the traditional 'Big Four' supermarkets, Tesco PLC stayed the largest retailer, with a market share of 27.0%. Though its market share was down from 27.6% last year, Tesco still saw sales grow by 3.1%.

Asda led the way for sales growth among the Big Four, maintaining an overall market share of 14.3% as sales grew by 5.3% year-on-year.

J Sainsbury PLC's saw its market share slip to 14.9% from 15.2%, as it recorded modest sales growth of 3.3%.

Wm Morrison Supermarkets lagged behind, recording a decline of 4.6% in sales against the previous year and a drop in market share to 9.0% from 10.0%.

Online retailer Ocado Group PLC's sales were flat versus last year, as its market share inched down to 1.6% from 1.7%.

Tesco shares were trading flat at 227.70 pence in London on Tuesday morning. Sainsbury was down 0.1% at 217.70p. Ocado was down 0.9% at 668.40p.

By Heather Rydings; heatherrydings@alliancenews.com

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