Asda warns of continued fall in UK household spending power

Lower and middle-income households successful the UK saw their spending powerfulness autumn for the 4th period successful a enactment successful October 2026, according to Asda’s latest income tracker.

According to the British supermarket chain, 60% of families person reported a diminution successful their disposable income.

The information indicates that astir 1 successful 5 households, typically with yearly incomes of astir £11,000 ($14,405) oregon under, faced an mean play shortage of £74, leaving them incapable to screen basal surviving costs.

A further 40% of households connected astir £25,000 a twelvemonth were near with lone £10 a week aft paying for essentials.

Households with yearly net of astir £41,000 retained £90 aft covering indispensable outgoings.

The tracker showed that wage increases for these income groups proceed to lag down the combined interaction of higher indispensable spending and accrued taxation burdens.

The information comes arsenic ostentation showed its archetypal yearly slowdown since May 2025, with the complaint easing successful October but inactive astatine 3.6%, supra the Bank of England’s target.

Housing and utilities remained the biggest drivers of inflation. Water charges roseate 26.4% year-on-year, portion nutrient prices were up 4.9%.

Within food, the outgo of breadstuff and cereals accrued by 1.2% betwixt September and October.

The outgo of the halfway handbasket of indispensable goods and services monitored successful its income tracker was 4.6% higher than a twelvemonth earlier.

Households headed by radical aged 30 to 49 were identified arsenic the astir exposed to rising costs, with mean play indispensable spending of £799 and monthly taxation bills of £281.

Sam Miley, caput of forecasting and thought enactment astatine Cebr, which produces the income tracker connected behalf of Asda, stated: “While the outturn ostentation information for October supports Cebr’s presumption that inflationary pressures person peaked, determination stay sizeable risks to the outlook for the income tracker. Worse than expected labour marketplace figures for September exemplify that the UK labour marketplace has been weakened by raised employment costs and anemic demand.”

In November 2025, Asda raised £568m ($743m) by selling 24 supermarket sites and a organisation depot, past leasing them backmost connected semipermanent deals.

Stores successful Small Heath, Colindale, Coventry Abbey Park and Killingbeck were bought by DTZ Investors, with Asda remaining arsenic tenant.

The different 20 stores and the Lutterworth organisation centre were sold to Blue Owl Capital nether the aforesaid sale-and-leaseback arrangement.

"Asda warns of continued autumn successful UK household spending powerfulness " was primitively created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.