LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Food price inflation slowed in October, industry data showed on Tuesday, as supermarkets began ramping up promotions ahead of Christmas.
According to data from Worldpanel by Numerator - formerly Kantar - inflation slowed to 4.7% in the four weeks to 2 November, from 5.2% a month previously.

Prices rose fastest in chocolate confectionary, fresh meat and coffee, but fell in household paper, dog food and sugar sweets.

Take-home grocery sales, meanwhile, grew by 3.2% over the same period, Kantar said.

Spending on deals surged 9.4%, significantly higher than the 1.8% uplift in spending on full-priced goods.

Fraser McKevitt head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: "Christmas ads are hitting our screens and the race to the big day is on in the supermarket sector.

"Retailers are very alive to the financial struggles that some households are facing, not least ahead of this year's Budget. They're eager to show they're offering shoppers value for money by putting the emphasis on price cuts rather than multi-buy offers."

The festive trading season is vital to the retail sector.

However, the grocery sector enters this year's so-called golden quarter facing a number of headwinds.

Although easing, inflation remains stubbornly high, interest rates are elevated, the jobs market is softening and economic growth is sluggish.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is also widely expected to raise taxes in the Budget later this month, as she battles soaring government spending and mounting debt.

McKevitt said: "At Christmas people want to treat themselves, and throughout the cost of living crisis we've seen them turning to retailers' premium own label lines to do that in a way that's more affordable.

"Sales of these goods were worth £582m in the latest month, and are likely to double as Christmas edges nearer."

Among individual grocers, fast-growing discounter Lidl posted a 10.8% surge in sales in the 12 weeks to 2 November, giving it an 8.2% market share.

Larger rival Aldi posted a 4.4% uplift, while Tesco - the country's biggest grocer - saw sales rally 5.9%, taking its market share to 28.2%.

Tesco's nearest rival, J Sainsbury, posted a 5.2% increase, raising its share of the market to 15.7%.

However, the largest growth was see at online-only Ocado Group. Sales surged 15.9%, giving the blue chip a market share of 2.1%.

Grocery sales at Marks & Spencer Group, which are not included in the overall figures as the chain is not a pure-play supermarket, sparked 8.8%.

In contrast, sales as at Asda - which is struggling amid stiff competition - fell 3.9%.

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