ONS reshuffles the inflation basket of goods – what are we buying and what have we ditched?
Houmous and alcohol-free beer are in, premium bottled lager is out. Here's what the ONS has set as its latest inflation shopping basket.
Sam Walker
The basket of goods used to calculate the rate of inflation has been reshuffled, with items such as houmous and alcohol-free beer added to the list, while sheet wrapping paper and European wines have been ditched.
In total, the ONS has welcomed 27 new goods and services into the basket while 19 have been removed, meaning the 2026 inflation basket of goods contains 760 items.
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Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at investment platform AJ Bell, said: “Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving, and this annual shuffle gives us an insight into our changing lived experience.”
Since March 2026, groceries scanner data has also been included in the ONS’ inflation data to more accurately reflect changing retail prices, including discounted products. Now, 50% of grocery data is collected from retailers’ scanners in-store and online and 50% from field workers who visit shops and retail outlets to manually record prices of goods.
What has been added to the inflation basket?
Some of the new items added in 2026 account for the introduction of the new scanner data.
For example, croissants have been added so the ONS can better track price changes across pastries and breakfast bakery products more broadly. Baby food, which was last in the basket in 2010, has also been added for this same reason.
Separately, non-alcoholic beer has been added for the first time due to an increase in sales and popularity among shoppers.
A full list of the items added to the inflation basket can be found below:
- Croissant
- Spray oil (not olive)
- Houmous
- Baby food
- Ready made sandwich
- Alcohol-free beer
- Bottle of white wine
- Boy’s trousers, 5-13 years
- Boy’s pyjamas, 3-13 years
- Girl’s pyjamas, 3-13 years
- Boy’s pants, 3-13 years
- Girl’s pants, 3-13 years
- Boy's socks, UK 9-6.5 / EU 26-38
- Girl's socks, UK 9-6.5 / EU 26-38
- Smart/WiFi light bulb
- Light bulb
- Dashboard camera
- International rail fares
- Motorhomes
- Computer games (top 20 charts) x3
- Pet grooming
- Subscription to pay TV
- Roll of wrapping paper
- Take-away sandwich
- Take-away soft drink
What has been removed from the inflation basket?
Among the 19 items that have been removed from the ONS’ inflation basket of goods and services are premium bottled lager, sheets of wrapping paper and overnight hotel accommodation.
As previously mentioned, the ONS tries to adjust its basket to reflect what most people in the economy are regularly buying. Removing items that have become less popular is an important part of making an accurate calculation.
A full list of the items removed from the inflation basket can be found below:
- Olive spray oil
- European white wine, bottle
- New World white wine, bottle
- Trousers suitable for school, 5-13 years
- Child's pyjamas, 3-13 years
- Child's pants, 3-13 years
- Child's socks, UK 9-6.5 / EU 26-38
- Light bulb (this has been replaced by an identical item with a new reference number so the ONS can collect prices from more types of shops and collate a wider spread of data)
- Smart/WiFi light bulb (like the light bulb item, this has been replaced by an identical item with a new reference number so the ONS can gather from a wider data set)
- Euro Tunnel fares
- Computer games (top 20 charts) x3 (the three games that were in the basket have been replaced with ones on sale across a wider range of retailers)
- Digital television subscription (subscription to pay TV, which represents providers streaming their content via the internet, is replacing the digital TV subscription)
- Sheet of wrapping paper
- Premium bottled lager
- Take-away sandwich (this item is being replaced by two new take-away sandwiches in the basket. One will be based on prices at supermarkets and food shops while the other will be based on prices from cafes and take-away outlets)
- Take-away soft drink (this item is being replaced by a take-away soft drink collected just for cafes and take-away food outlets, but not supermarkets)
- Overnight hotel accommodation, priced the day before travel
The ONS sometimes adds and removes similar items to its basket to better reflect how customers consume them.
For example, in 2026 rolls of wrapping paper were added to the basket while sheets of wrapping paper were taken off due to low usage. International rail fares were added, replacing Euro Tunnel fares.
How does the ONS decide what to put in the inflation basket?
A number of factors are considered when the ONS decides to add or remove a good or service from their CPI basket.
Typically, some goods or services are so common that it is clear that they should be included in the basket. One example of such a good is petrol, which is used by so many people in the economy that changes in its price should be included when calculating inflation.
Other times, it can be a bit more complicated to work out what to put in the inflation basket.
The ONS says it aims to find items that are representative of overall consumption in the economy. This means they try to get a sample of specific goods or services that gives a reliable measure of price movements for a range of similar items.
Importantly, however, the items it chooses have to be commonly available to consumers across the UK, be available throughout the year, and be a genuine reflection of what someone may buy and use in their everyday lives.
This is why the ONS finds it important to update the basket regularly. If it is measuring the price of items which are only used by a small portion of the population, or are out of trend, the data it collects will be inaccurate.
If the data is inaccurate, then this can lead to difficulties in other areas of policymaking. For example, the Bank of England looks at this measure closely when setting interest rates.
