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NielsenIQ’s EU barometer shows Britain leading in grocery inflation

Britain was the only country to record grocery inflation above 2%, according to NielsenIQ data that compared Europe’s five biggest grocery markets from February to May 2026.

Of the five markets tracked in NielsenIQ’s August 2026 report, NIQ EU5 Inflation Barometer – France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Spain – Great Britain recorded fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) inflation of 2.3% over the 13 weeks to 24 May 2026, compared to the same period a year prior.

At a glance:

• Confectionery and snacks was the only category to rise in price consistently across the five markets.
• Over the period of analysis, British shoppers purchased 0.9% less, while French and Spanish shoppers bought more.
• Shoppers across all markets traded up to higher-value brands, as opposed to opting for supermarkets' own brands.

This puts the country as the only market of the five above 2%, and above the market average of 1.1%. Britain was followed by Germany (1.3%), Spain (1.2%), and Italy (0.6%). On the other end of the spectrum, France alone experienced deflation of -0.4%.

“Great Britain remains the clear outlier, with FMCG inflation holding above 2%, while France has moved back into deflationary territory,” Benjamin Cawthray, client director at NielsenIQ said in a press release.

British grocery price rises: Non-alcoholic drinks lead

Food (2.3%) and beverage (3.4%) prices inflated in Britain, with non-alcoholic beverages leading at 4.4%. Healthcare followed closely behind at 2.9%, confectionery and snacks at 2.8%, and frozen food at 2.7%.

In the other markets, prices moved in different directions, suggesting that ingredient costs alone were not responsible for the rise in Britain.

Confectionery and snacks in Germany rose 4.7% and non-alcoholic beverages fell 2.3%. Yet in Britain, non-alcoholic beverages rose 4.4%.

Confectionery and snacks were the only category that rose across the five markets.

Which grocery categories can take a price increase in Britain?

NielsenIQ’s modelling puts alcoholic beverages as the most price-sensitive category in Britain, and by some distance – with a 1% rise cutting sales by around 2.5%. Homecare, frozen food, and confectionery follow, while healthcare and pet care are the least sensitive categories.

“Consumers are less willing to bear a price increase for categories such as alcohol or homecare products, while healthcare, cosmetic, and baby care can be more aggressive with their price positioning,” the NielsenIQ report authors wrote.

As such, two of the categories carrying the largest increases in Britain – frozen food and confectionery – are those that shoppers drop the fastest.

There is a caveat to this, though, and in some cases, it can work the other way. For example, a 10% discount on alcoholic beverages led to a 33% increase in sales, suggesting that the categories where price rises cause shoppers to avoid are the same ones where a discount brings them back.

The impact of inflation in certain categories and shoppers' responses is also markedly different across markets.

“Italy shows higher overall price sensitivity than other European markets, making price increases particularly challenging outside of healthcare,” the report authors wrote.

For example, in Italy a 1% price rise in the frozen food category resulted in a 2.2% loss of sales, compared to a 1.7% loss in Britain.

Germany was the only market where alcohol was not the category shoppers dropped first when prices were raised; pet food was.

British shoppers buy fewer groceries but more expensive brands

Over the period of analysis, British shoppers spent 2.5% more on groceries. However, almost all of that was due to higher prices, not more items purchased.

In fact, they purchased 0.9% less, which was the largest drop across all five markets. Spanish shoppers bought 3.3% more, while French shoppers bought 1.9% more.

One thing shoppers in Britain did not do was switch to supermarkets' own brands. Own labels, in fact, barely moved, taking just 0.1% off British spending growth, while moving to higher-value brands added 0.7%.

Shoppers in the other four markets leaned the same way, with trading up at 1.7% in Spain, 1.4% in Italy, 0.5% in France, and 0.4% in Germany.