The UK’s weather was so bad this summer it caused something unseen for three years
If you thought we were being too grumpy about the weather this summer, we now have statistic proof it was rubbish a lot of the time.
It was so wet that it hit the UK’s economy, with prices falling in shops for the first time in almost three years, the lowest rate of growth since October 2021.
All those downpours let to a period of deflation after years of soaring prices.
Shop prices in the first week of the month were 0.3% lower than a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index found.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, put the blame partly on a lack of sunny days where shoppers are more likely to be out and about, and more likely to want to buy seasonal goods.
She said the figures reflect ‘retailers discounting heavily to shift their summer stock, particularly for fashion and household goods.
‘This discounting followed a difficult summer of trading caused by poor weather and the continued cost-of-living crunch impacting many families.’
While food prices were not affected and went up by 2% (we need to buy food whatever the weather, after all), items including clothes, footwear and electronics saw price reductions.
Perhaps those shelves of flip flops didn’t look so appealing when there were yellow weather warnings for the tail end of a hurricane.
Of course, we have had some nice, and even some hot, days this summer, but looked at overall it wasn’t especially sunny.
It’s not too late for some last minute rays, however, with a spell of warmer weather on the way which could bring temperatures of 29°C in the southeast, and good spells of sunshine for much of England and Wales.’
What does inflation mean and what happens when it rises?
Inflation refers to a general rise in the level of prices. The opposite is deflation, a general fall in the price level.
If the cost of a £1 bag of flour rises by 5p, then flour inflation is 5%. It applies to services too, like getting your hair cut.
Read our full explainer here.
Fresh food inflation slowed to 1% in August – with fruit, meat and fish seeing the biggest monthly decrease since December 2020, the BRC said.
Ambient food inflation – which means products that can be safely stored at room temperature, such as tinned goods, crisps, tea bags and biscuits – remained more stubborn at 3.4%.
Ms Dickinson said: ‘Retailers will continue to work hard to keep prices down, and households will be happy to see that prices of some goods have fallen into deflation.
‘The outlook for commodity prices remains uncertain due to the impact of climate change on harvests domestically and globally, as well as rising geopolitical tensions.
‘As a result, we could see renewed inflationary pressures over the next year.’
Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said many food retailers introduced price cuts to help drive sales during the ‘summer of sport’, including the Paris Olympics and Euro 2024 football tournament.
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