THE cost of Brexit is starting to hit home, with the impact of the devalued pound sending the cost of basics such as food and utilities on an upward trajectory.

Microsoft’s decision to charge UK businesses up to 22 per cent more to license its software and Apple’s addition of £300 to the price of a Mac are eye-catching, but they are unlikely to hit the pocket of the average man or woman on the street.

The hikes are, however, emblematic of a wider issue all households in Scotland are going to face in the months ahead.

As David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The falling pound means that goods and services which are imported become more expensive.”

It was for this reason that products such as Marmite, Persil and PG Tips started disappearing from Tesco’s shelves last month, as the retailer locked horns with supplier Unilever over who should cover the cost of Tesco’s pounds being worth less than they were previously.

Although consumer goods giant Unilever had reportedly been seeking to increase Tesco’s bills by 10 per cent, the retailer managed to see it off before being faced with the decision of whether to recoup the rise at the checkout. Consumers are unlikely to be that lucky for long.

“We’re only just beginning to see this feed through into prices actually faced by shoppers,” said Mr Lonsdale.

“Most retailers buy their stock well in advance, so what is in the shops now was by and large bought before the post-referendum devaluation.”

Scott Corfe, director at the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), noted that the competitive nature of the supermarkets, which remain locked in a price war, means that none will “want to be the first to raise prices”, although he stressed that “their ability to absorb higher prices is quite limited”.

Even if the supermarkets were to change their buying habits to take more goods from UK manufacturers, it is unlikely the move would stop prices from rising for long.

As Ian Wright, director general of the Food and Drink Federation, noted, three-quarters of food and drink manufacturers responding to the body’s latest business confidence survey said it was difficult to keep their selling prices down when the cost of their raw ingredients is constantly rising.

“Three quarters of producers responding to our business confidence survey told us they're seeing ingredient import costs rise - butter, for instance, is up 75 per cent since May,” he said.

“In some instances, the weaker pound has increased exports of UK raw materials creating domestic scarcity.

“If these price hikes persist, as companies believe they will, there are three pretty undesirable possible outcomes: retailers put up prices, manufacturers and/or retailers take the hit, or consumers lose choice.”

Mr Wright agreed with Mr Corfe that supermarkets are likely to hold off increasing prices for as long as possible, saying that “tends to be a last resort companies use when absorbing cost hikes begins to put brands and jobs at risk”.

That said, he noted that food and drink pricing “reflects the economic climate, whether that’s the impact of changing utility prices or ingredient costs”.

The bad news for consumers is that on top of the inevitable rise in the cost of consumer staples, utility prices are starting to rise too, which will not only drive the cost of these goods higher in the longer term but will see household bills rise into the bargain.

Jason Wakeford, energy expert at price comparison website uSwitch, said that as wholesale energy prices have been rising for several months the cheapest deals are now starting to get more expensive.

At the moment only fixed-rate deals from small and medium sized companies have been affected, but it is likely that the larger suppliers could begin hiking their prices too.

“The signs at the moment are that wholesale costs are continuing to rise and they are a big component of the bill,” Mr Wakeford said.

With the UK’s inflation rate sitting below one per cent for the last year, Mr Corfe said it was inevitable that prices were going to start rising at some point.

However, he added that consumers are being hit by the fact that wages have not begun rising at the same time.

“Inflation will overtake two per cent next year and some people are talking about it reaching three or four per cent,” he said.

“The period of near-zero inflation has come to an end and we’ll see some big price rises.

“Inflation was always going to rise but people were hoping that when the time came earnings growth would be picking up too, but it’s not and we have no reason to believe that it will.

“Our view is very much that there is going to be a big squeeze on consumer spending next year.”

In other words, unless your employer increases your pay by the same level at which prices generally are going to rise, the cash in your pocket is not going to go as far.