Sainsbury’s profits fall as households shop early for Christmas to spread cost

Supermarket chain says it has tried to keep prices down with households dining more at home rather than eating out

Households feeling the squeeze" are shopping earlier for Christmas to spread the cost and have made a shift to dining at home rather than at restaurants, according to Sainsbury's.

The supermarket revealed an 8% fall in first-half profits as it said it had invested in keeping prices as low as possible, with food price inflation in its stores running at comfortably less" than the 10%-plus reported for the wider market.