Shop price inflation — or more accurately shop price deflation — has accelerated, the latest BRC-NielsenIQ Shop[ Price Index showed on Thursday.

The later timing of Black Friday in 2024 meant that the 1-7 December data period included the final days of the Black Friday discounting period (including Cyber Monday), in complete contrast to the previous year when Black Friday was earlier.

This means non-food prices were more likely to appear deflationary than the underlying trend.

So with that caveat in mind, what did the figures tell us? Shop Price deflation was 1% in December, up from deflation of 0.6% in the previous month. This is slightly above the three-month average deflation rate of 0.8% with shop price annual growth staying at its lowest rate since August 2021.

As mentioned, the week included a big price-cutting period for non-foods, and deflation in non-foods specifically was 2.4%, having been 1.8% a month earlier.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the BRC, said: “Retailers discounted heavily for Black Friday this year as they attempted to make up for weaker sales earlier in the year. However, the later Black Friday timing brought many of the non-food discounts into the measurement period, making non-food prices look more deflationary than the underlying trend. With food inflation bottoming out at 1.8%, and many price pressures on the horizon, shop price deflation is likely to become a thing of the past.

And Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight, NielsenIQ, added: “During December, shoppers benefited from both lower inflation than last year and bigger discounts as both food and non-food retailers were keen to drive sales after a slow start to the quarter. However, higher household costs are unlikely to dissipate anytime soon so retailers will need to carefully manage any inflationary pressure in the months ahead.”