Smart phones and apps have been added to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) 2011 inflation basket, replacing mobile phone downloads such as ringtones and wallpapers.
The ONS collects about 180,000 prices every month for a basket of about 650 goods and services. Changes in the prices of the items are used to compile the two measures of inflation: the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and the Retail Prices Index (RPI). Ever year, the ONS updates the basket to reflect new trends in consumer behaviour. For example, this year the updated basket will include dating agency fees, for the first time ever. This is because, with the spread of the internet, online dating sites are becoming an increasingly common way for people to find a partner.
As new legislation is coming into force this year restricting the sale of cigarettes, vending machine cigarettes are now being removed from the basket. Also going is the pork shoulder, which is being replaced by oven-ready joints, as people move further towards more ready prepared foods.
- oven-ready joint
- dried fruit
- sparkling wine
- women’s high-heeled shoes
- MDF
- glasses with single-vision lens
- mobile phone apps
- smart phones
- craft kit
- hardback book (fiction)
- provincial newspaper
- hair conditioner
- dating agency fees
- pork shoulder
- lager (four cans)
- vending machine cigarettes
- women’s premium branded dress
- hardboard
- spectacle frames (without lenses)
- mobile phone downloads
- rosebush
- vet fees for spaying a kitten
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