Food remains the largest item of expenditure for households, with products such as oil, margarine or milk showing the largest increases
Spanish households spent 10.8% more in October than the same month of the previous year, to more than 5,550 million euros. However, this higher level of spending does not correspond to more consumption, but is due to the rise in prices. The latest report from consultancy NielsenIQ shows that purchase volume is down 0.6% compared to last year.
Food is the most costly sector for Spaniards, with spending growth of 12.6% in October, though purchase volume fell by 1.1%, implying a 14% increase in food prices, according to Nielsen data . Milk continues to cross the double-digit mark, with the price up 20.5% in a year. Drugstores and perfumes also shot up 8.6% (although their consumption fell 3.6% in a year), while beverages rose 6.2%.
Among the products that increased their demand the most were frozen vegetables, which recorded a 10.1% increase in volume sales, indicating that given the rise in fresh vegetable prices, we are witnessing a shift in purchases from fresh vegetables. to frozen vegetables that have a better price behaviour, they indicate from Nielsen.
Also striking is the large drop in purchases of sugar and sweeteners (-11.8%) in October, caused by the sharp price increase (40%). In this sense, among the products that have registered the highest price increases compared to a year earlier are margarine, which costs 45% more, oil, which has increased by 40% and which is beginning to show the effect of crops that caused very poor prices due to the adverse weather conditions, as well as butter and processed cheese, which recorded price increases of 30.7% and 27% respectively due to the general increase in dairy products.
In terms of the least purchased categories, alcoholic beverages recorded a 10.5% decrease in volume, prompted by Spaniards returning to eat and dine out of the home, although pre-pandemic levels have not yet recovered, with a drop in alcohol consumption. Hospitality sector (horeca) up 19% compared to a year ago.
“Inflation has been changing our buying habits for months now. That’s why most consumers see us in a recession, even though the official numbers don’t confirm it,” said Patricia Daimiel, NielsenIQ’s general manager for Southern Europe. The expert believes that Christmas consumption may vary as families cut back to cope with rising energy and food costs.
In this sense, four in five Spaniards say they are affected by inflation at home, according to Intrum’s European consumer payments report. To reduce this impact, 63% of those surveyed say they are making changes to their monthly spending, according to 58% of those surveyed.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
