Supermarkets: the decline in inflation over the past four months

2023-08-24 17:29:52

Inflation continues to decline in mass distribution. The rise in prices on the shelves was 12.4% year on year in August, according to the barometer Circana-LSArelayed by BFM TV this Thursday, August 24. This figure is down for the fourth consecutive month. In July, retail inflation was 13.6%, and 15.1% in June. The rise in prices is down 3.8 points compared to the peak of 16.2% reached in March and April.

“One-year inflation of demand continues to decelerate, which confirms the continuation of the efforts made by distributors in the context of the anti-inflation quarter and/or supplier renegotiations”, analyzes Circana in its monthly note.

This fall in inflation in August was driven by the fall in the price increase for private labels (MDD), which fell from 14.7% to 13.2%, and that of entry prices, which fell by 13 .4% to 11.9%. These ranges thus find levels of increases close to those of national brands (12%), which further encourages customers to turn to these products, which are already less expensive to begin with.

For its part, the National Institute of Statistics measured the soaring prices in food at 12.7% over one year in July, a sharp increase, however less than in June (+13.7% over one year). ). INSEE is to publish its statistics for August next week, Thursday morning.

Meeting scheduled with distributors and manufacturers

“We will bring together distributors and manufacturers next week to take stock of the fight against the high cost of living”, announced the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire this Thursday, while prices are still far from falling in supermarkets. . The date of the meeting is not yet known.

“I had indicated that inflation would start to slow in the summer of 2023. We are there”, assured the minister during a back-to-school speech, to Alex in Haute-Savoie. “The INSEE figures confirm that inflation started to slow down this summer,” he said. “However, there is a long way from the truth of the figures to the reality of the portfolio and daily life”.

In total over two years, inflation in supermarkets remains above 21%, recalls Circana on Thursday. According to experts at the consumer consultancy, the declines will be more significant next month, with likely two-year disinflation.