The rising popularity of dairy-free diets, gin, and cycling are all reflected in the annual shake-up of the shopping basket used to measure UK inflation, while smartphones have pushed out basic mobile handsets.
Non-dairy milk such as soya, rice and oat milk, have been added to the basket which is updated by the Office for National Statistics to better reflect the lifestyle of the modern consumer in Britain.
Bicycle helmets made it back into the basket after a 12-year absence, as the success of British cyclists in the Olympics and the Tour De France fuelled enthusiasm for the sport at home.
Basic mobile phone handsets were ejected from the basket, reflecting changing technology as consumers opt for smartphones instead. Children’s scooters are in, replacing children’s swings.
Phil Gooding, senior statistician at the ONS, explained: “The annual basket review enables us to keep up to date with all the latest trends, ensuring our inflation measures reflect the changing costs experienced by consumers.”
Also out of the basket for 2017 are menthol cigarettes and fees charged for stopping cheques, while council tax has been included.
The inflation basket dates back 70 years and now includes about 700 goods and services. Using the shopping basket, the ONS collects around 180,000 individual prices each month from shops across the UK as well as online. It then uses weights for each item – their relative importance in calculating inflation – based on survey evidence of people’s spending, and comes up with an inflation number for the whole economy.
The headline rate of annual inflation in the UK is currently 1.8%. It is expected to rise in the coming months as the impact of the sharp drop in the value of the pound since the Brexit vote feeds into prices.
What’s in for 2017
- Half chocolate-coated biscuits
- Non-dairy milk
- Flavoured water
- Gin, bottle
- Apple cider, 4-can pack
- Flavoured cider, bottle
- Men’s base layer top
- Cycle helmet
- Average council tax bills in Great Britain
- Average rates bills in Northern Ireland
- Cough liquid
- Child’s scooter
- Jigsaw (now every popular with adults)
- Cider
What’s out for 2017
- Spirit-based drink
- Apple cider, bottle
- Menthol cigarettes
- Single drainer sink
- Motor Vehicles Brake pads
- Mobile phone handset
- Child’s swing
- Apple cider
- Fee for stopping a cheque