The latest numbers from Kantar today reveal that grocery price inflation now sits at 9.9% for the past four weeks. Despite retailer’s best efforts to ease consumer pain, by investing in their price match schemes and club card pricing to try and retain the share, it is clear that supermarkets are feeling the pressure. With food prices predicted to surge 15% this summer, retailers simply can’t simply absorb all of the costs, and for the next 1-2 years they will be battling with inflation.

With consumers already spending smarter on their weekly necessities, opting for cheaper frozen and canned alternatives that have a longer shelf life, simply increasing prices is no longer an option. Grocery brands need to look at how to optimise their profit per square foot and attract shoppers in new ways. We’ll see supermarkets create destinations – removing the goods that fail to produce profit and creating meaningful spaces inside their store – whether that be for an opticians, dentist, or beautician. The key will be driving footfall to these huge store spaces, making the supermarket ‘multi-purpose’.

Utilising technology will be the ‘make or break’ to supermarket survival. As worldwide food supply continues to be a cause for concern, supply and demand balance will inevitably be harder to balance. This is where AI and analytics come into play – to predict consumer trends and ensure supply to meet peaks in demand for goods proving particularly popular.