Inflation basket of goods: Coffee pods, leggings and nail varnish are in, nightclub entry and CD Roms are out – these are our changing shopping habits according to the ONS
The party's over. No longer do we head to a nightclub for a weekend blow out leading to entry fees being dropped as a measure of inflation – but a tipple of cream liqueur is now on the menu.
George Clooney has something to answer for, as coffee pods like Nespresso are also added to the shopping basket of goods, the list of items used to measure inflation by the Office of National Statistics, and which also illustrates the changing habits of the nation.
Read more: A short history of the inflation basket of goods
CD Roms and rewrittable DVDs are now a relic as we download, stream and digitally record music and movies, but new to the list – largely thanks to Candy Crush we expect – are computer game downloads.
Here's what's new and what's been ditched from the trolley this year, and why, according to the bean-counters.
IN
Coffee pods – It represents a distinct and growing product previously covered within the class.
Women's leggings – A type of clothing not currently covered but widely purchased. More broadly, women’s clothing is an under-covered area of the basket.
Lemons – This is an under-covered class and adding lemons boosts representation of citrus fruit. Fruit prices vary greatly so it is beneficial to collect across as broad a range as possible.
Computer game downloads – This is an under-covered area of the basket. Downloads are attracting increasing expenditure and their inclusion splits the weight of computer games.
Nail varnish – Introduced to cover a cosmetic area attracting significant expenditure.
Cream liqueur – This represents a sub-sector not covered in the basket and has been introduced to help interpretation of a class where there is a high degree of price volatility due to discounting.
Microwave rice – This item has been introduced to represent a type of prepared food not already covered in the basket and reflects longer-term trends towards prepared foods
Large chocolate bar – This is an under-covered area. Its inclusion splits the weight of a smaller chocolate bar already in the basket and introduces a product from other confectionery manufacturers.
Multipack meat snacks – This item has been introduced to represent the market for meat based, buffet-type food not already covered in the basket.
OUT
Nightclub entry – Removed due to collection difficulties and reduced expenditure as the number of nightclubs is declining.
CD Rom – Replaced by computer software since CD Roms are a declining technology with people increasingly downloading software.
Rewrittable DVDs – Removed due to poor coverage. It represented a declining technology which is being superseded by streaming services and personal video recorders (PVR’s).
Organic carrots – Removed due to relatively low coverage in price collection partly due to organic produce becoming mainstream with less distinction from non-organic products. Organic carrots will be included in the carrots item in future so that there is still representation in the basket.
Cooked slice turkey – Replaced by cooked sliced turkey/chicken as coverage of the sliced turkey item is falling reflecting its availability in shops.