An Asda chairman has said that customers are changing the way that they shop due to the price of living crisis - including making changes on petrol forecourts.
Chairman of the supermarket chain Lord Stuart Rose claimed that shoppers are self-imposing spending limits when they fill up their cars. The boss described a "massive change" in customers' behaviour as he has called on the government to do more to help low-income households as the prices continue to surge, reported Nottinghamshire Live.
He told the BBC : "People are trading back. They are worried about spending."
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According to the latest data from Kantar, the average annual grocery bill is on course to rise by £380. Lord Rose pointed out that people have also altered their consumer habits.
He said: "He said: "They've got a limit that they've set out, too. They say £30 is one limit.. and if they get to more than £30 then that's it, stop. It's the same with petrol."
With supermarket prices hitting a 13-year high and fuel prices rocketing, the cost of living crisis is biting ordinary households. Manchester Evening News reported that the Asda chairman said many people won't remember the inflation of the 1970s and the current rise in prices has come as a shock to many.
He added: "I'm of the generation that remembers what it was like last time. And once [inflation] gets hold, it's quite pernicious." He went on to say that some people are heading to self-checkouts to avoid the embarrassment of not being able to pay.
The average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts reached a new high of 189.3p on Tuesday, according to data firm Experian. The average price of diesel was 197.1p per litre. The rate of inflation rose again in May, remaining at 40-year highs and deepening the squeeze felt by households across the UK, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.
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