Inflation came back to the supermarkets for the first time since 2014, latest figures from Kantar Worldpanel showed. The market had seen deflation for more than 2 years prior to this, however this year saw a 0.2% rise for the last quarter. It was reported that shoppers spent approximately £480m more than they did in December last year, with the average spend per household over the Christmas period being around £365. Also for the first time in two years, all four of the big supermarket chains (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda & Morrisons) reported an increase in sales. The rise of discount supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi saw many of the big retail chains cut prices in order to compete, however the rate of inflation may result in an end to the ongoing price war.