UK Inflation Basket Updated
The UK's ONS updated its inflation basket to include alcohol-free beer, hummus, and other items, reflecting changing consumer habits.
Atlas Newsdesk ·
UK Inflation Basket Updated The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has updated its inflation basket, incorporating new goods and services to reflect evolving consumer spending patterns. This revision, effective next month, includes alcohol-free beer, hummus, pet grooming, dashboard cameras, and motorhomes among the 760 items used to calculate inflation metrics such as the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).
The inclusion of alcohol-free beer reflects increased sales and product availability, while hummus's addition is driven by its rising popularity among health-conscious consumers, with estimated expenditure reaching approximately £170 million in 2024. Dashboard cameras, with sales around £150 million in 2023, were added due to consumer efforts to reduce insurance costs. Motorhomes entered the basket following a sales increase, potentially linked to early retirement trends.
To accommodate these additions, items such as bottled premium lager purchased in pubs and restaurants, and sheets of wrapping paper, have been removed. The ONS will also enhance its data collection by utilizing electronic feedback from retailers, scanning 300 million price points from over 1 billion products monthly, replacing the previous system of 25,000 in-store price checks. The next inflation figures, covering the year to February 2026, will be published on March 25 based on this revised basket.