PG Tips and Coke cheaper than in 2012

THE cost-of-living crisis may not be hitting supermarket shoppers quite as hard as they think – with some everyday items cheaper than they were a decade ago.

A comparison of 20 popular products in the big supermarkets found prices for the whole basket had only increased by one per cent a year since June 2012.

The study was conducted by the consumer website Supermarket Own Brand Guide.

It found five items cost less – Hartley’s jam, Nescafe Gold Blend, PG Tips, Coca-Cola and

R Whites Lemonade – and others had barely risen.

A 500g box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes is £2 today, up only 2p.

Some products did, however, show a marked increase over the past decade. Weetabix has risen from an average of £2.17 in 2012 to £3 today and Heinz Baked Beans from 68p to £1.

Martin Isark, founder of Supermarket Own Brand Guide, said: ‘It is not all bad news for the UK shopper. The no frills supermarkets [such as Aldi and Lidl] have

kept prices at the Big Four [Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons] in check, otherwise we may have seen prices doubling on some products.’