Asda's chairman said many shoppers for food and fuel have been limiting themselves to spending £30 as they aim to slash outgoings amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Lord Rose made the statement just days after Asda, along with other large grocery chains, was accused of profiteering by delaying the passing on of the fuel price duty cut announced by the government.
Asda denied the claim, which came from a leading independent petrol station owner, saying it was the industry 'price leader'.
Speaking to the BBC today, Rose said Asda has been struggling with surging wholesale and supply chain costs, with the tricky decision of whether to absorb the higher prices themselves at the expense of lower profits or pass them on to shoppers,
He urged governments to tackle inflation imminently, even if it means catalysing a recession.
Rose said he saw the inflation rise coming last year like a "train coming through a tunnel with a big flashing light on the top," with now being the time to "fasten our seatbelts."
"And it [inflation] takes a long time to eradicate... we're in danger of being in a place that it's very difficult to extricate ourselves from,” Rose added.
Asda said it has been cutting prices for shoppers, having expanded its cut-price groceries range that now has around 300 products but whether that has more to do with its losing market share to discount rivals Aldi and Lidl. which have gained market share rapidly during the crisis. was not spelt out by Rose.
Tesco and Sainsbury's have launched specific campaigns aimed at matching the prices of Aldi, for example.
Even so, figures from Kantar yesterday showed Aldi and Lidl's share market rising by 7.9% and 9.5% respectively over the past year while Asda's share dropped 4.8%.
Asda, the UK's third-largest supermarket, said it had also launched Dropped and Locked, which will ensure prices on 100 items remain unchanged for the rest of 2022.
"We're doing everything we can,” Rose said, adding: “We've invested nearly £100mln in the last month or so making sure customers get essentials at very, very attractive prices to try and help them."