How has the nation’s shopping basket changed since joining the EU?
Smart technology now features in Britain’s supposed must-have items.
A pint of milk cost 6p and cassette recorders were a must-have item when the UK joined the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.
As the UK prepares to leave the European Union in 2020, milk will set you back about 44p a pint and your latest technological purchase is likely to be a smart speaker.
The nation’s shopping basket has seen various changes in the last five decades, with the introduction of new items and the demise of others, reflecting evolving lifestyles.
In a sign of the current digital age, smart speakers – such as Amazon Echo and Google Home devices – were added to Britain’s inflation basket in 2019.
But technology was making waves in the 1970s too, with the cassette recorder making it into the basket in 1976.
While a cassette was blasting out tunes at a social gathering, revellers in the 1970s may well have been having a drink from the Party Seven beer can – which contained seven pints of beer.
The ONS said earliest available records show beer in party containers in the basket in 1974.
At the dinner table, families were sitting down to Smash – a convenience option for those who fancied mashed potatoes fast.
Garlic bread kicked off the current decade by being included in the 2010 basket, followed by tablet computers in 2012, blueberries in 2013 and sweet potato in 2015, as well as music streaming subscription services, ONS data shows.
By 2018, it was all about health and fitness, with raspberries, action cameras and women’s exercise leggings added to the basket.
In 2019, envelopes, washing powder and hi-fis were removed from the basket while the nation’s love of cake – and the success of TV shows such as The Great British Bake Off – boosted sales of baking trays.
