Tesco CEO says shoppers are ‘terrified’ of inflation

Bloomberg

More than 75% of people are “terrified” of the effect the cost-of-living crisis will have on their families, according to the head of UK’s largest supermarket.
Tesco Plc Chief Executive Officer Ken Murphy said the grocer has done a lot of research about how people are feeling right now as they battle the worst inflation to hit Britain in 40 years — “and this is the word they use — ‘terrified’.”
“We’re on the front line talking to customers every day and we can see and feel the pressure on the family budget,” said Murphy.
“So I can’t overstate the mood of the people in all our markets.” Signs of consumer stress are particularly evident in the UK, he said, but are also present in Ireland and in central Europe where inflation has hit an all-time high.
Murphy’s remarks follow those made by Tesco Chairman John Allan when he warned that Britain was on the cusp of “real food poverty for the first time in a generation.”