Asda warns shoppers will notice bank account is £264 short

James Rodger
·2-min read

Asda has warned shoppers face a £66 weekly shortfall in disposable income in a fresh Cost of Living blow. The supermarket giant - which is rivalled by Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Sainsbury's - has issued its Income Tracker which found average disposable income for all UK households has risen.

It has soared by 15.1 per cent year-on-year in May to £239 per week, hitting a 32-month high. The latest figures from Asda’s Income Tracker reveals that disposable income for low-earning households hit a near three-year high in May, the supermarket giant said.

Despite this increase, budgets for these families remain under pressure in real terms, as their take home pay was still not enough to cover bills and essential spending, leaving them with an average weekly shortfall of £66. It means households are missing £264 a month.

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Pushpin Singh, Senior Economist at Cebr, said in a statement in the wake of the findings from the supermarket giant, which is one of the so-called Big Four grocers in the UK: “The Income Tracker continues to improve, with discretionary income increasing to £239 per week. This improvement continues to be driven by several factors, not least elevated nominal earnings growth, easing inflation, the uplift in the National Living Wage, and tax policy changes. Cebr anticipates spending power to see further improvements in 2024, bolstered by the relatively strong growth momentum seen in Q1 2024.”

Asda recognises that many families are still feeling the strain of the cost of living and continues to support communities and its customers by launching new value propositions and investing to maintain its position as the UK’s lowest-priced traditional supermarket.

The supermarket recently announced new price cuts on hundreds of products worth £70m, reducing prices by an average of 11%, as part of its focus on delivering uncompromising value for customers.

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