This year, the impact of smartphones and the streaming revolution has forced out the digital compact camera and non-film DVDs and CDs that don’t make the top 40 charts. — Image by Freepik
Outdated relics of 1990s Britain are being kicked out of the official inflation basket as digital cameras, alcopops and some CDs make way for ebikes, doorbell cameras and soundbars.
The Office for National Statistics holds an annual review of the consumer goods and services it samples, so that the basket reflects fast-changing shopping habits by replacing outdated items.
This year, the impact of smartphones and the streaming revolution has forced out the digital compact camera and non-film DVDs and CDs that don’t make the top 40 charts. Some CDs and DVDs will remain in the basket, including those bought over the Internet, film DVDs and CDs that make the chart.
Alcopops – flavoured alcoholic drinks aimed at young people and students – were also among the 16 items removed.
Meanwhile, frozen berries were added for the first time to reflect an increase in home-made smoothies, while ebikes, home security cameras and soundbar speakers were also included in the 26 new items. Some 717 items were left unchanged.
"The impact of mobile phone technology continues to resonate with the removal of CDs and digital cameras from our basket, reflecting how most of us listen to music and take pictures straight from our phones these days,” said Mike Hardie, ONS deputy director of prices transformation.
"With many people looking to reduce their impact on the environment, we have also introduced ebikes, whose popularity has risen significantly in recent years.”
Pandemic fading
Recent changes to the basket have been dominated by the pandemic and homeworking with antibacterial wipes and dumbbells for home exercise among the items added. However, the ONS said the pandemic has "faded from our shopping habits in 2023” with this year’s changes, reflecting "the rise of new technology and an increasing awareness of our health and environment.”
The changes come at a time when British households are suffering double-digit inflation as energy and grocery bills soar. Economists expect inflation to fall rapidly over 2023 with the Bank of England predicting it will be at close to 4% by the end of the year.
The ONS also updated its source for rail fares under wider plans to rely less on physical price collection and more on new sources, such as supermarket scanner data and information scraped from websites. – Bloomberg
