How much did things cost in 1988?
These are prices of some sample items in 1988.
How much were these prices for someone on an average income in 1988? To get a feel for this, I have adjusted them for the increase in incomes from 1988 to today. You can see these adjusted prices in the column 'Income adjusted'.
1988 price | Income adjusted | |
---|---|---|
Gallon of petrol | £1.72 | £6.10 |
Bottle of whisky (Bell's) (Co-op) | £8.29 | £29 |
Bottle of sherry (Harvey's Bristol Cream) (Co-op) | £3.89 | £14 |
Carlsberg Special Brew - 1 large can (Spar) | 89p | £3.10 |
Pint of beer (bitter) | 91p | £3.20 |
Pint of lager | 98p | £3.50 |
20 cigarettes | £1.48 | £5.20 |
21" Philips colour TV with Teletext and remote (Dixons) | £399.99 | £1,400 |
Saisho VHS recorder (Dixons) | £229.99 | £810 |
Sanyo Camcorder + 14" colour TV with Teletext (Dixons) | £1099 | £3,900 |
Amstrad computer with disk drive (Dixons) | £349.99 | £1,200 |
Hotpoint fridge-freezer (Currys) | £349.99 | £1,200 |
Samsun microwave oven (House of Fraser) | £139.99 | £500 |
Hotpoint automatic washing machine (Electricity Board Shop) | £269.99 | £960 |
Daily Mirror newspaper | 20p | 71p |
Average house price | £65,000 | £230,000 |
250g Acorn butter (Gateway) | 46p | £1.60 |
Pepsi cola 2 litres (Tesco) | 75p | £2.70 |
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth | £20,000 | £71,000 |
Spar crisps 6 packs | 59p | £2.10 |
Dozen size 4 eggs (Tesco) | 69p | £2.40 |
Krona margarine 250g (Safeway) | 29p | £1 |
The income adjusted prices are based on the Bank of England's Three Centuries Macroeconomic Dataset Version 2.3 - 30 June 2016. I have updated the income figures based on the ONS: Series code KAB9, adjusted to bring the figures inline with the Bank of England's.
For a comparison of prices in 1988 adjusted for inflation see Infation adjusted prices for 1988
By Steven Braggs, February 2021, updated May 2022
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