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The f ight against inflation
Algorithmic retailing : a strategy for growth in a difficult market . By Ed Betts
Inflation is a huge problem for consumers reticent to spend and retailers struggling to stay afloat . Looking at the UK , the rate of inflation is in slight decline , that is not as positive as it may seem : inflation itself remains at the kind of peak the country has not seen since the early 1990s . The ONS ’ headline statistic , the Consumer Prices Index , suggests that despite inflation slowing , the average price of retail goods rose 8.7 percent in May 2023 , down from an 11.1 percent peak in October 2022 . Kantar data is even more pessimistic , reporting that like-for-like grocery price inflation sits at 16.5 percent in mid-June – the lowest rate in 2023 , but the sixth highest in the past 15 years .
Inflation rates may be dropping , but this has no impact on the average consumer . Prices on the shelf are increasing despite the best efforts of retailers – and the public is responding . Seventy percent of households
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