Smartphones join inflation basket

Smartphones and their apps have been added to the typical basket of goods used to calculate inflation.

Dating agency fees have also been included for the first time to reflect the rising use of these websites, the Office for National Statistics said.

The ONS updates its 650-strong basket of goods and services annually, to better reflect public spending habits.

Consumer price inflation is currently running at 4%, double the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

Calculations

The shifting of goods and services in and out of the basket gives an insight into the changing nature of shopping habits and new technology in the UK.

The ONS collects about 180,000 separate price quotations of this basket of items in 150 areas of the UK.

These are then used to calculate the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) and Retail Prices Index (RPI) measures of inflation.

Smartphone applications have replaced mobile phone downloads, such as ringtones and phone wallpaper in the ONS’s estimate of a typical shop.

Also added to the 2011 basket are sparkling wines and oven-ready joints, with vending machine cigarettes and pork shoulder being taken out.