The average yearly shopping bill is about to rise by £643 - or £54 a month - according to the latest research into the UK's escalating food prices.

Fresh data says the cost of living crisis is now 'hitting people hard at the checkouts' with the average household's annual grocery bill likely to jump to £5,265 if they continue to buy the exact same items.

In basket terms - this equates to an extra £3.04 on top of the average shopping trip which was £21.89.

The predictions, from research firm Kantar, make for tough reading with analysts only in June predicting that the cost of the annual supermarket shop would go up by £380 in 2022.

But with inflation still rising and the war in Ukraine raging, prices at the tills continue to grow and that prediction has now been revised upwards - with retail experts now warning that the average home is looking at a rise of very close to £700 a year for their grocery bills.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. "Grocery inflation now stands at 13.9%, a record high since Kantar began tracking prices in this way during the 2008 financial crash."

Milk, margarine and pet food are among the items seeing some of the biggest price rises while shoppers with an eye on their escalating energy bills are also now searching for cheaper ways to cook, suggests Kantar's report.

Sales of cooking appliances including slow cookers, air fryers and sandwich makers, which generally use less energy, are up by 53%, says the survey, while purchases of duvets and electric blankets have grown by 8% and candles have increased by 9%, suggesting people may be preparing for possible winter blackouts.

And with escalating prices, shoppers it seems are finding other ways to get the items they want for less with sales of imperfect fruit and vegetables, such as Tesco's Perfectly Imperfect range and Morrisons Naturally Wonky, collectively up by 38% in the last month.

"Of course, consumers are looking for ways to manage budgets and to avoid paying more for their shopping. We are generally reluctant to change what we eat, so this is more about sticking to the food we know and love while hunting for cheaper alternatives" added Fraser.

And while there has so far been no dramatic evidence of diets changing during the cost of living crisis, one standout item in Kantar's latest report does acknowledge a shift in shopping habits - when the nation paid its respects to the Queen last month.

Marmalade sales, it says, surged by 18% in September as fond memories of the late Monarch's appearance alongside Paddington Bear during June's Platinum Jubilee celebrations were replayed.