Robert Besser
04 May 2025

LONDON, U.K.: Grocery prices in the UK rose by 3.8 percent in April, slightly higher than last month's 3.5 percent, adding more pressure on people already dealing with higher energy, water, and council tax bills, according to research firm Kantar.

Supermarkets are trying to attract more shoppers by lowering prices and offering more deals. Asda, the UK's third-largest grocery chain, said it would accept lower profits to make prices more competitive. This has led to fears of a price war, with Tesco and Sainsbury's warning that their profits could also be affected.

Fraser McKevitt from Kantar said supermarkets are changing their pricing to stay competitive.

Asda still had the weakest performance, but its sales drop of 3.8 percent in the last 12 weeks was better than the 5.6 percent drop the month before.

Lidl had the strongest growth among physical supermarkets, with sales up 10.1 percent. Tesco's sales rose 6 percent, and Sainsbury's were up 4.4 percent.

The British Retail Consortium also warned that prices may keep rising due to new industry costs, like a packaging tax starting in October. Their survey showed food price inflation hit 2.6 percent in April, the highest in nearly a year.