With petrol racing to a record of £1.10 a litre and the price of a pint nudging £4, consumers could be forgiven for harking back to the days when flares were in fashion and the hostess trolley was a must-have.

However, a new survey shows that as far as the cost of everyday household goods on the high street are concerned, shoppers have never had it so good.

According to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC), the accountants, the prices of everything from a kettle to a camera have tumbled by nearly 50 per cent since the early 1970s. At Argos, prices have fallen 47 per cent in real terms since Richard Tompkins, the founder of the Green Shield Stamps empire, launched the chain in 1973 with a 250-page catalogue.

A fan heater in the original catalogue priced at £7.60 would cost £51 in today’s money, given the impact of inflation over the past 35 years. A similar product retails today at £12.99. PwC adds that the cost of typical clothing lines, such as blouses and children’s T-shirts at Next, have tumbled by an average of 48 per cent since 1988.

The biggest price-cuts have come in the past decade, as retailers have taken advantage of improvements in technology, the manufacture of products overseas and, most recently, the depreciation of the dollar against the pound.

Mark Hudson, PwC’s head of retail and consumer, said: “What we purchase now compared to the 1970s is much cheaper, that’s why you see four or five televisions in a house now. Before, the family would have one black-and-white TV set and it would be a luxury.

“Around 90 per cent of the deflation we have seen has been in the last ten years. Manufacturing costs have come down and we have also benefited from the intense competition among retailers and the increasing importance of the internet. Consumers have so much price information at their fingertips.

“The good news is that we believe prices will continue to fall. There are a lot of people with products to sell in the current economic climate.”

PwC’s survey shows that much of what consumers buy has remained the same — but not all. The first Argos catalogue 35 years ago, when the group had only a handful of British stores, included air pistols and sheep-skin-covered car seats. Slide projectors, electric fires and cigarette lighters were each given two pages. There were 27 carriage clocks on offer, as opposed to three in this year’s 1,800-page catalogue.

Sara Weller, Argos’ managing director, says: “Life has moved on, but the basics remain the same. The biggest change has come in technology and also what we have in the garden. Back in the 1970s there was more freedom to do what you like, to go off and play as a child. Now people are buying swings and outdoor toys to use outside their homes.”

The figures come at a time of spiralling food inflation after strong increases in the price of commodities, such as wheat. Moreover, this month Debenhams and French Connection gave warning that clothing prices could rise after a decade of price deflation because of higher wage costs in China. Ms Weller said that the challenge of keeping costs down was becoming tougher, but added that in the latest Argos catalogue, reintroduced products were 4 per cent cheaper. “We will continue to seek cost improvements,” she said.

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