In the UK, analysts have warned that shoppers' efforts to save money are causing sales volumes to fall significantly for the first time since the second world war.
IRI, the market research company, has said that the volume of sales in the UK fell by 3.2 per cent during the first six months of this year.
"Consumers are struggling to keep within their budgets as wages rise slower than price inflation and child benefit cuts kick in," said Tim Eales, strategic director of insight at IRI.
"They are cutting back on how much they buy from the major supermarkets, some moving instead to the discount shops, buying lower-priced alternatives or simply making do with less. This is having an unprecedented effect on sales from the UK's major supermarkets."
Eales said also that IRI's findings show that consumers swapping from premium bands to own-label products cost the UK grocery industry £800 million in 2013, and that the figure will be considerably higher this year.
"It is going to be increasingly difficult for supermarkets to find paths to growth during the next few years unless they think differently," Eales said.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly
