The boss of ASDA has revealed some shoppers have been forced to stop staff scanning items mid-way through their checkout due to them surpassing their budget.
Inflation has reached a 30-year high, leaving UK residents crippled by a cost of living crisis.
As well as essential items such as fuel and energy bills having dramatically increased, the price of grocery items has also soared.
Advert
The chairman of ASDA, Lord Stuart Rose, has since spoken out about the extent of just how badly customers are being affected by rising prices.
Lord Rose told the BBC that he has seen a 'massive change in behaviour' in customers, saying: "People are trading back. They are worried about spending.
"They've got a limit that they've set out, too. They say £30 is one limit... and if they get to more than £30 then that's it, stop. It's the same with petrol."
Advert
Lord Rose also told BBC Sunday Morning 90 percent of Asda customers are 'very worried about the cost of living and how they are going to make ends meet'.
He noted that while supermarkets are 'not immune from increases [them]selves' they 'will do what [they] can' to protect customers.
"If you're baking biscuits or baking cakes, [energy] goes into the cost of the raw material that you have to pass on [to consumers].
Advert
"What we have to try and do is mitigate that," he explained.
Lord Rose reflected that he's 'of the generation that remembers what it was like last time' in the 1970s.
"And once [inflation] gets hold, it's quite pernicious. And it takes a long time to eradicate... We're in danger of being in a place that it's very difficult to extricate ourselves from.
Advert
"What's rather sad is that the country, the government, perhaps the Bank of England didn't see inflation coming quickly. They've now recognised that."
Despite the cost of living payments which are set to roll out soon in a bid to support millions amid the inflation, Lord Rose has called on the government to do more to help low income households.
Millions are currently set to receive a first instalment of their Cost of Living payment from 14 July. The initial payment totals £326.
Advert
The second instalment totals £324 and is set to go out in autumn, however a date has yet to be confirmed.
Lord Rose explained he saw inflation coming at the end of last year like a 'train coming through a tunnel with a big flashing light on top'.
He's since warned he expects food prices to 'go higher' and 'stay high for quite some time'.
The supermarket businessman resolved that the UK needs to 'fasten [its] seatbelt'.
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this story, you can find more information about where to get help from Turn2Us via their website.
Featured Image Credit: ShutterstockTopics: UK News, Money, Food And Drink
