British consumers are set to spend £9.18bn on holiday preparation, food and drink, and other goods – a 2.5 per cent increase on last year.

But the figure represents a fall as the Consumer Price Index rate stood at 2.9 per cent in June.

Research from Webloyalty and Conlumino, says £3.83bn will be spent on food and drink, £2.62bn on holiday items and £2.78bn on other items, such as clothing and paddling pools. The bulk of the overall summer retail spend will therefore be seen in food and drink, such as barbeque products and salads.

The figures indicated that value retailers and fashion market retailers have increased their market share since last year, by 5.7 per cent and 7.1 per cent. Mid-market retailers, on the other hand, have fallen in popularity by 2.2 per cent since last year, despite holding the majority market share of 68.4 per cent.

Tesco chief Philip Clarke said he expected trading conditions to “remain challenging” for the UK grocery market as a whole. Sir Ian Gibson, Morrisons chairman also said earlier this year that consumer confidence and market conditions were continuing to be challenging.

Consumers are planning to spend up to £546 on items to take on holiday on average. The bulk of this will be spent on clothing (up to £89 per person), cameras (£94) and other electronics (£66), while the average person will also spend up to £61 on health, beauty and personal hygiene products.

Asda are set for a profits boost as a third plan to buy clothes there this summer. Marks & Spencer and Primark followed closely behind.

The grocery price war is driving down grocery prices, as food and non-alcoholic drinks were 0.6 per cent cheaper in May than a year ago and are expected to fall further this year. Retail sales fell 0.5 per cent in May.

“Over half of shoppers will be looking to make extensive use of online channels for pre-holiday shopping this summer, which means that retailers should pay close attention to maintaining a strong online presence in this crucial period,” concluded Guy Chiswick Webloyalty MD.

In May, the average British household spent £192 on out of home leisure, a decline of £23, or 11 per cent, against April and only £1 higher than in January, the Greene King leisure spent tracker report found.