Assessing Trends in Consumer Price Values of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages in the United Kingdom

ASSESSING TRENDS IN CONSUMER PRICE VALUES OF FOOD AND NON-ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
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Table of Contents Table of Figures. 2 Introduction. 3 Background. 3 Aim.. 3 Objectives. 3 Methodology. 4 Data Collection. 4 Data Preparation. 4 Data Analysis. 5 Results. 5 Conclusion. 9 Project Management 10 Project plan. 10 Project Collaboration. 10 Learning reflection. 11 References. 12 Table of Figures Figure 1: Time series Plot of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages CP Values. 6 Figure 2: Time series Plot of the 4-Quarter Moving Average of CP Values. 7 Figure 3: Comparison of CP Values with the 4-Quarter Moving Average (MA) 7 Figure 4: Time series Plot of the Center Moving Average of CP Values. 8 Figure 5: Comparison of CP Values with the Center Moving Average (CMA) 8 Figure 6: Time series Plot of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages CP Values with Forecasted Values  9 Assessing Trends in Consumer Price Values of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages in the United Kingdom Introduction Background Consumer trends are considered an important part of planning government activities in different parts of the world. In the United Kingdom (UK), various indicators of consumption trends are collected by the government, including spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages (Office for National Statistics, 2023b). With a majority of the population spending on these items daily, it provides an appropriate variable to study and understand spending patterns historically and further enables forecasting (Partington, 2022). Notably, there have been significant changes in the consumption patterns of the UK based on various changes, including economic conditions, health aspects, and changes in lifestyle over the past 30 years (Brien, 2023).             Consequently, this provides an opportunity for researchers to comprehensively analyse such trends in data using techniques such as forecasting analysis when presented with time series data (Silva et al., 2019). The lack of appropriate and adequate knowledge in this area makes it difficult for concerned stakeholders in the country to make informed decisions about aspects of planning, product development, marketing, and distribution that are directly linked with the consumption of these products (Bazzoni et al., 2022). More so, policymakers can also lack an appropriate understanding of the underlying issues surrounding consumer behaviour that can assist in developing appropriate interventions to address possible health concerns and promote sustainability in this sector. As a result, both the public and private sectors can benefit immensely from this research and its findings. Aim             This research aims to assess the consumer trends in the consumption of food and non-alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom using the available time series data through forecasting analysis. Objectives The main objective of this research is to understand the changing dynamics in consumer spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom. The specific objectives were:

1. To analyse the historical t...