Virtual reality headsets, yoga mats and men’s pool sliders have been added to the shopping basket used to calculate the cost of living in Britain, while local newspaper adverts and oven-ready gammon joints have been removed.
In a snapshot of an increasingly online, time-pressed nation, the Office for National Statistics said the annual review of its inflation basket had taken into account shifting fashion trends, as well as growing consumer appetite for faster food and future technologies.
Sales of VR headsets, which allow users to immerse themselves in digital worlds, have grown rapidly in recent years, and the goggles are used for everything from gaming to virtual therapy sessions to recreating the acid house rave scene of the 1980s and 1990s.
Although still relatively niche within the multibillion-pound consumer electronics market, annual sales are expected to grow from about £350m last year to £520m by 2029.
On the flipside of the technological revolution, the continued decline in the centuries-old newspaper industry led the ONS to withdraw printed adverts placed in local papers, as consumers now usually place them online instead.
It also added pulled pork to the shopping basket, in a direct swap for oven-ready gammon amid the dwindling popularity of pre-prepared joints of meat as consumers choose more convenient items.
Men’s pool sliders were also added, reflecting the rise of the sandal worn by the former Conservative prime minister, Rishi Sunak, a fashion choice interpreted by some commentators as a play to attract young voters who might normally look to Kanye West for style inspiration.
Stephen Burgess, the ONS deputy director for prices, said the changes reflected evolving consumer spending patterns. “The addition of virtual reality headsets for the first time shows our appetite for emerging technology, while the loss of printed newspaper adverts demonstrates a continuing shift towards the online world.
“The desire for convenience amidst our busy lifestyles also plays a part in this year’s basket changes. Consumers are choosing easier options in the kitchen, so oven-ready gammon joints make way for the quicker choice of pulled pork.”
The ONS calculates the annual inflation rate by tracking the change in price for an array of goods and services, gathering the information on a monthly basis from online retailers and over the phone. The latest figures show inflation reached 3% in January, although it remains below the 11.1% peak recorded in late 2022 – the highest level in four decades.
The next inflation reading – covering February – is due on Wednesday 26 March, the same day as the chancellor’s spring statement.
The basket of more than 700 items is designed to represent spending habits and reflect change in consumer behaviour. The annual update only covers a small number of items; 23 were added and 15 removed this year.
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Changes in recent years have highlighted the impact of the Covid pandemic, including the addition of casual lounge wear, as well as the removal of hand sanitiser and men’s suits because of falling demand.
This year, the ONS said it was adding yoga mats to widen the range of sport items in the basket, highlighting the continuing popularity of home workouts after a rise in remote classes and solo exercise during lockdowns.
The government agency has faced criticism over the reliability of some of its most important statistics, including its influential labour force survey used by the Bank of England and the government to monitor unemployment. The ONS had planned to incorporate thousands of prices gathered directly from supermarket checkout scanners into its inflation data from this month, but said earlier this year it would delay the move until March 2026.
