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Nation's shopping basket: CDs out, muffins in

Britons' retail preferences are changing, a new 'shopping basket survey' has revealed.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) announced its latest annual list of around 650 'typical' consumer goods, the prices of which are used for government inflation statistics.

This years 'national shopping basket' sees the retirement of items such as camera films and CD singles - and the introduction of such cafe favourites as muffins and smoothies.

Frozen vegetable ready meals were also out - to be replaced by more fresh vegetables.

"Fruit smoothies are included as the emerging market of healthy soft drinks continues to rise in supermarkets," the ONS said in a statement.

"Muffins are included for the first time to represent snacks such as croissants and cakes that people generally buy with a coffee in cafes around the UK."

The new list is the 61st since the ONS began the inflation-measuring service in the 1940s.

Around 120,000 prices are collected each month for the list.

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