UK shoppers cutting back even on essentials, warns Poundland owner

Pepco says acute spike in inflation' and lack of wage rises forcing consumers to spend less

The cost of living crisis is prompting UK shoppers to cut back even on essential items as wages fail to keep pace with inflation, the owner of Poundland says.

Pepco Group, which owns Poundland in the UK, Dealz in Ireland and the Pepco chain across Europe, says that while the absolute levels of inflationary pressure are greater in central and eastern European markets, higher wage growth of about 10% in those regions compared with others is substantially offsetting this.