Tesco earnings set to throw light on fragile state of British consumer

Tesco UK's report on first-quarter trading this Friday is set to give a valuable indication of the impact of rising prices on shopper behaviour

Tesco shares are down 15% so far this year.

The fragile state of the British consumer will be laid bare later this week when Tesco, the country's biggest retailer, updates on trading amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

When Tesco, which has more than a 27% share of Britain's grocery market, reported annual results in April, CEO Ken Murphy said it was too early to make the big calls on changing shopper behaviour as a result of the crisis.