The UK’s increasing sobriety will be recognized from next month in the basket of goods used to calculate inflation after the Office for National Statistics added non-alcoholic beer to a list totaling 760 items.
Hummus and pet care were also included in the list of goods and services used to help judge the impact of rising prices on the cost of living.
The new data will feed into the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Retail Price Index (CPI) and the Consumer Price Index including Housing Costs (CPI), which is the ONS’ preferred measure of inflation.
Non-alcoholic beer was included after sales increased, as did “the range of products and shelf space dedicated to the product”, the ONS said.
Hummus caught the attention of statisticians after the “growing popularity of this product among health-conscious consumers, with spending estimates rising to around £170 million by 2024.”
Dashboard cameras were another addition to the basket after sales reached around £150m in 2023 “and are estimated to rise further as consumers look to reduce their insurance costs and provide parking safety,” the ONS said.
Motorhomes entered the list after an increase in sales, most likely in tandem with the rise of early retirements.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at stockbroker AJ Bell, said: “Since the pandemic, many of us have tried to adopt healthier lifestyles and the proliferation of no- and low-alcohol options has helped people change their drinking habits, especially as competition pushed brewers to offer easier-to-drink options.”
He said the rise of hummus coincided with the explosion of weight-loss drugs, with consumers increasing their consumption as part of a low-calorie diet, while the trend for smaller dogs had increased demand for pet services.
“The popularity of doodles, or poodle-cross dogs with curly coats, has led to increased demand for pet care, which is the number one expense for pet owners after health checks,” he added.
To make room in the virtual basket, premium bottled beer purchased in pubs and restaurants has been removed. The ONS will also ditch sheets of wrapping paper in favor of rolls of wrapping paper, which are easier to track.
The next inflation figures, covering the year to February 2026, will be published on March 25 and will be based on the revised list of items.
After years of testing, the independent statistics agency will also include a more comprehensive data set based on electronic feedback from retailers.
The ONS said it will scan data from 300 million price points of more than a billion products sold each month, replacing a system that relied on 25,000 price points checked in stores by ONS inspectors.
The Bank of England is expected to keep interest rates at 3.75% when policymakers meet on Thursday. They will include in their analysis the January CPI figure, which fell to 3% in January from 3.4% in December, but will be concerned about a likely rise over the spring and summer as high oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict feed through to higher prices for items such as transportation and food.
Hewson said: “As many households prepare for inflation to rise again as the Iran war continues to drive up the price of oil, the impact of rising costs will continue to be on the minds of many people as they struggle to budget for the life they want to live.”
The Bank of England’s official inflation target is 2%.
