"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."
The Office for National Statistics revised the shopping basket used to calculate the UK's cost of living to mirror changing consumer habits. Additions include virtual reality headsets, yoga mats, men's pool sliders and pulled pork, while printed local newspaper adverts and oven-ready gammon joints were removed. The update reflects growing online purchasing, faster-food preferences and emerging technologies; VR sales are forecast to rise from about 350m last year to 520m by 2029. The newspaper advertising decline prompted removal of printed adverts as classifieds move online. ONS deputy director for prices Stephen Burgess said the changes reflect evolving consumer spending patterns.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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