ONS Inflation Basket Drops Champagne And Brings In eBooks And Deli Meats

Champagne Sales Go Flat, But We're Drinking More Rum At Home

Champagne's out, but eBooks are in after the Office for National Statistics shook up its basket of goods, used to calculate inflation.

Also on the technology front, digital television recorder/receivers, including personal video recorders (PVRs), are replacing standard Freeview receiver boxes.

And continental sliced deli type meats (charcuterie) have been added to the basket, along with blueberries, hot chocolate and packaged vegetables for a stir-fry.

Off-sales - those where the alcohol is bought for consumption off the premises from where it was bought, such as through a supermarket - of white rum are also being added to cover spirits that are drunk by younger people better, but on-sales (those sales where the alcohol is drunk on the site of purchase) of champagne have been taken out of the basket as the amount of champagne drunk in pubs and bars continues to fall.

Elsewhere, self-assembly kitchen wall units have also been added to the basket to improve coverage of furniture, but basin taps have been removed.

Packs of daily disposable contact lenses are also entering the basket, replacing a pair of soft contact lenses, reflecting changes in the type of contact lenses consumers use.

The ONS 'shopping baskets' of items used in compiling the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Retail Prices Index (RPI) are reviewed each year. Some items are taken out of the baskets and some are brought in to make sure the CPI and RPI are up to date and representative of consumer spending patterns.

Infographic by Office for National Statistics (ONS)

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