// Supermarket prices to increase further due to inflation
// Kantar found that grocery prices have seen the biggest increase since December 2011
Grocery prices have seen the biggest increase since December 2011, according to new research.
Kantar found that supermarket prices were 5.9% higher in April than a year ago, and the average food bill could increase by £271 this year due to inflation.
The research company also said shoppers were turning to discount retailers Aldi and Lidl as pressures on budgets grows.
READ MORE: Morrisons cuts prices of 500 items to help with soaring inflation
Supply chain issues, the Ukraine war and rising raw material costs are all contributing to soaring food prices.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “The average household will now be exposed to a potential extra £271 per year.
“A lot of this is going on non-discretionary, everyday essentials which will prove difficult to cut back on as budgets are squeezed. We’re seeing a clear flight to value as shoppers watch their pennies.”
Aldi was the fastest growing retailer during the period the data covers, with its sales increasing by 4.2% over the 12 weeks to 17 April.
This was closely followed by Lidl, which was up 4%.
More than one million extra shoppers visited the two retailers respectively over the period compared with this time last year.
Tesco was the only other retailer to increase its market share, growing by 0.3 percentage points to 27.3% of total grocery sales.
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