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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Larry Elliott Economics editor

Revealed: how UK’s poor paid price of ‘cheapflation’ in cost of living crisis

Shoppers from Aldi supermarket loading their car boot with groceries
‘Cheapflation’ has a disproportionate impact on poorer households. Photograph: Jill Mead/The Guardian

The bill for a weekly shop in Britain’s poorest households rose by far more than it did in wealthy homes during the height of the cost of living crisis as the sharpest price increases affected cheaper brands, research reveals.

The study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found the least well-off had been hardest hit by “cheapflation” in the 2021-23 period – paying 29.1% more for their food, compared with 23.5% for better-off households.

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