A lasting phenomenon. The rise in prices is confirmed. Over one year, according to INSEE, it reached 4.5%. Eco guest of franceinfo, Friday April 15, Emily Mayer, specialist in consumer products at the IRI institute, sees this episode of inflation “stretch in time“, at least until the end of the year.
According to the IRI Institute, which monitors labels in supermarkets every month, the increase in products on the shelves is currently 1.5% over one year. But the phenomenon should accelerate: “We think that in April, we will be at +3% (…) and we imagine that in the summer we could be around +5% compared to summer 2021“. The war in Ukraine, and the persistence of the pandemic are all factors to explain this increase.
In detail, some prices are increasing much faster than others: +13% for pasta, +7% for flour and oils, +4% for butter, +3% for eggs, +4.5 % for sugar, etc. Faced with this surge in inflation, consumers are beginning to adapt.
“There are two main possible ways to absorb inflation“, says Emily Mayer. Customers can “consume a little less, and reduce the consumption of products that increase the value of the basket fairly quickly“, details the specialist: “I am thinking in particular of meat… In recent weeks, we have seen what could look like a drop in meat purchases on the part of the French“.
Another way is “to buy cheaper products (…) Discount and destocking brands have been on the rise for several months“, precise Emily Mayer. Consumers can also opt for less expensive brands: brand references or first prices. According to Emily Mayer, “over the last few weeks, we have seen a very strong recovery in entry-level products in categories that are very inflationary, flour, oil, butter or pasta“.