We all know food prices are on the rise - but when I headed out to do a comparison of my weekly 'big shop' at one of the UK's biggest supermarkets from a year ago, I could have almost fainted. Armed with my receipt from November last year (and the year before as it happens) I headed to Morrisons to see how sharply prices have risen on a range of groceries.
I knew it would show up some big price rises, but when I crunched the numbers it was grim. I was actually left pretty staggered to think of how much extra I'm now paying every week for my family-of-four food shop.
The price rises have been creeping up over the past two years and nationally inflation is said to be hovering around 10 per cent year-on-year. But looking at my Morrisons' haul, with many prices up by 20 per cent - or even higher on some items - was all-in-all a bit of a shocker.
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And, just to give you an idea of how quickly the price rises are happening - when I went to do the physical shop this week, a number of items had risen in price just days after I had checked them online. A Morrisons medium chicken that was priced at £4.15 online on Monday was priced at £4.39 in store by Wednesday, and the steak beef mince was priced at £3.49 online on Monday, but priced at £3.69 in the physical store on Wednesday.
My 70cl bottle of Baileys would have been £16 if I'd bought it last week, it's now in store at £16.50. Strap in folks, this could be a bumpy ride to Christmas.
I raised this issue of price difference online and in store with Morrisons - and all of the items I mentioned have now increased in price online to reflect those in store. A spokesperson said: "With regards to online prices versus in store, for the vast majority of products they should be exactly the same and we have picked up with the store about the examples you flagged.
"Exceptions include items that need additional packaging to keep them safe in transit, like our fresh flowers, as well as short term offers that may no longer be available when the customer’s order is due."
I also asked Morrisons about the increase in prices from November 2021 to September 2022 that amounted to over £11 more - showing them the full list of my shopping that you can see below. They said that because I returned in September, rather than November, it wasn't a "fair comparison".
A spokesperson said: "As the time periods are not the same, it is very hard to do a fair comparison as there are a number of factors that may mean the prices differ. These include seasonal pricing on our fresh produce and also promotions.
"We are also facing an unprecedented period of inflation and are doing everything we can to keep prices down for our customers, including leveraging our own manufacturing operations."
Fair enough. I'll be sure to head back in November to see how the prices have gone up or down again then too.
In the meantime, here's the staggering price rises that I found 10 months on - which I've broken down into sections so you can see where inflation seems to be hitting the hardest. The increases on meat and dairy prices were the biggest eye-opener for me, as well as that price increase on my Baileys.
Milk and dairy products
British whole milk 2 pints - 80p (2020) - 89p (2021) - £1.25 (2022)
Grated mature cheddar - £1.69 (2020) - £2.00 (2021) - £2.49 (2022)
Langley Farm cottage cheese - £1.35 (2020) - £1.35 (2021) - £1.49 (2022)
Dairylea Lunchables - £1.00 (2020) - £1.00 (special offer down from £1.50) (2021) - £1.25 (special offer down from £1.55) - (2022)
Peppa Pig fromage frais - £1.00 (2020) - £1.00 (2021) - £1.00 (2022)
Milk and cheese saw the big rises in this category, with only yoghurt staying stable. That increase in milk price is a staggering 40 per cent higher than last year.
The Dairylea Lunchables were on special offer again a year on, although still 25p dearer than last year.
This time last year you could get the mature grated cheddar cheaper on a "2 for £3" offer. The offer this year? "2 for £4.50" GULP.
Only Peppa Pig gave us a slight glimmer of hope - the price of the cartoon-emblazoned fromage frais has stayed admirably stable at the £1 price for the past two years now.
Meat & fish
Lean beef steak mince 5% fat - £2.69 (2020) - £2.89 (2021) - £3.69 (2022)
Medium whole British chicken - £3.00 (2020) - £3.35 (2021) - £4.39 (2022)
Turkey steaks - £3.25 (2020) - £3.50 (2021) - £3.99 (2022)
Billy Bear ham - £1.00 (2020) - £1.00 (2021) - £1.29 (2022)
Tikka chicken pieces - £2.50 (2020) - £2.50 (2021) - £3.15 (2022)
The Best Honey roast ham slices - £2.00 (2020) - £2.50 (2021) - £2.95 (2022)
Fishmongers cold water prawns - £2.69 (2020) - £2.75 (2021) - £2.50 (in store) (2022)
Here's where things started to get serious. Seriously alarming.
I just could not believe how stark and steep the price rises have been on the my regular meat haul in the space of 10 months (let alone looking back at 2020's prices).
The whole chicken was over one pound dearer than November 2021 - and this was one of the items that saw a steep jump in price from when I first checked online on Monday (at £4.15), and then purchased in store on Wednesday (for £4.39). That's an increase of 30 per cent.
The ham was up by 45p, but I could have got it cheaper if I went for a 2 for £4.50 offer.
One of the only items in the whole shop that worked out cheaper this year was the pack of prawns for £2.50, 25p cheaper than last November.
Fruit & Veg
Raspberries - £3 (2020) - £3 (2021) - £3.49 (but pack size has increased) (2022)
Organic Bananas - £1.30 (2020) - £1.45 (2021) - £1.09 (2022)
Large mild onions - £1.25 (2020) - £1.35 (2021) - £1.69 (2022)
Pink Lady apples (4 pk) - £1.89 (2020) - £ 2.00(2021) - £2.15 (2022)
It appeared to be a big rise on raspberries - but the pack size has changed - in 2020 and 2021 it was a 250g large pack, now it's up to 300g - so it actually works out cheaper in price per gram than last year.
The apples are also up in price by 15p - although they would have been much cheaper on a current 2 for £3.50 deal.
If you're wondering why I've not bought more veg, it's because the previous years' vegetables I bought were on yellow sticker deals so it's not a fair price comparison.
Bread and Bakery
Hovis Best of Both medium sliced 500g - £1.10 (2020) - £1.10 (2021) - 99p (Price Hold) - 2022
Morrisons The Best Pancakes - £1.25 (2020) - £1.45 (2021) - £1.50 (2022)
WW wraps - £1.40 (2020) - £1.40 (2021) - £1.50 (2022)
Pleased to see the bread prices remaining fairly stable - and the medium Hovis loaf was one of the very few items actually DOWN in price on last year, as part of Morrisons "Price Hold" offer.
Store cupboard essentials
Heinz Baked Beans snap pots - £2.50 (2020) - £2.50 (2021) - £2.99 (2022)
Morrisons Passata - 35p (2020) - 49p (2021) - 49p (2022)
Ben's Rice - 99p (2020) - 99p (2021) - £1.35 (2022)
The Ben's long grain microwave rice that I bought a year ago has shot up in price - but is now part of a "3 for £3" deal so you'd need to buy more to get it cheaper.
Baby milk and food
Ella's Kitchen Stage 4 baby food - £2 (2020) - £2.20 (2021) - £2 (2022)
Cow & Gate formula milk - £7.97 (2020) - £8.75 (2021) - £9.99 (2022)
Heinz baby food (1+ years) £1.80 (2020) - £1.20 (2021) - £1.50 (2022)
Fruit Bowl peelers - £2.25 (2020) - £2.25 (2021) - £2.49 (2022)
Pampers baby wipes - 85p (2020) - 85p (2021) - £1 (2022)
Two years ago I had a babe-in-arms, so a big expense on the shopping list was baby milk and first baby foods. Thankfully baby formula is now a thing of the past for me - particularly when I see that it has gone up MASSIVELY again in a year to a horrifying £9.99.
The Ella's Kitchen Stage 4 baby food has changed its packaging, but has gone down in price from 2021 to £2 which is good to see, but the Heinz baby food has risen by 30p.
Alcohol
Bottle of Baileys 70cl - £9.99 (2020) - £12 (2021) - £16.50 (2022)
Bottle of "The Best" Prosecco (20cl) - £2.50 (2020) - £3 (2021) - £3 (2022 - although a different brand)
Now that's a big old rise on the Baileys. I remember this time last year, Morrisons said this wasn't a fair comparison as there was a promotion on the creamy booze the year before explaining the £2 increase. So I'm not quite sure what the excuse is for a £4.50 increase is this year.
The Morrisons Best mini Prosecco that I bought last year appears to no longer exist online or in store - but an equivalent remains at the same price of £3.
Crisps and snacks
Cadbury Brunch bars - £1.00 (2020) - £1.00 (2021) - £1.00 (2022)
Roysters T Bone steak crisps - £1.00 (2020) - £1.00 (2021) - £1.00 (2022)
Fibre One Popcorn bars - £1.00 (2020) - £2.00 (2021) - £1.75 (2022)
Kallo Rice Cakes - £2.00 (2020) - £2.00 (2021) - £2.00 (2022)
This was the one category where prices had remained the most stable, snack fans may be pleased to hear. There was also a reduction in price on the Fibre One snack bars.
Overall price comparison
Shopping basket total priced on November 25, 2020 - £70.36
Shopping basket total priced on November 24, 2021 - £76.71
Shopping basket total priced on September 14, 2022 - £87.91
It's fair to say my jaw dropped when I saw the huge total increase for the exact same shop over the past two years. It was all the same brands/own brands purchased to make it a fair comparison and it has gone up in price by over £11 in the past year representing an almost 15 per cent rise in total on this particular sample shop year-on-year.
There were price rises in all the different categories of my particular "big shop", but most shocking for me were the increases on meat and dairy which are a staple of my weekly shop, with some items increasing by 30 per cent and even 40 per cent higher year-on-year. Just five items on the whole shop had actually gone down in price since last November.
It's crazy to think that I'd be paying out around £281 a month just two years ago for this 'big shop', £306 a month last November, and now it works out at £351 a month. That's without taking into account the secondary food shop I tend to do each week for extra bits and bobs of course.
The prices today are 25 per cent higher than on the same sample shop from two years ago. I don't know about you, but my salary hasn't gone up by that amount in that space of time, nowhere even close to that.
At the same time energy bills are fast increasing too putting pressure on households everywhere. With grocery prises predicted to rise even further in the weeks ahead, it's all worrying food for thought right now.
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