UK shoppers buy more emergency essentials after Be Ready campaign

Politics · First reported 12 Nov, 09:07 · Updated 09:13

Image: Wikimedia Commons · NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland. · Public domain

Sales of emergency essentials rose in the weeks after the UK government's Be Ready campaign launched, while grocery price inflation edged up. Worldpanel data also shows changes in market share among major supermarkets over the 12 weeks to 1 November.

Sales of hand sanitiser, bottled water and tinned or jarred goods rose in the 10 days after the Be Ready campaign launched, compared with the same period last year.
Worldpanel data put supermarket prices 2.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, up from 2.5 per cent in September. An analyst said the increase in sales came from shoppers adding recommended items to their weekly shop, not from bulk buying.
Ocado, Marks & Spencer, Lidl and Waitrose reported sales gains over the 12 weeks to 1 November, and Lidl recorded the largest market share gain of any retailer.

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Key facts

Hand sanitiser sales change: Up 83 per cent in the 10 days after launch versus the same period last year
Bottled water sales change: Up 67 per cent over the same window
Tinned and jarred goods sales change: Up 37 per cent over the same window
Supermarket price inflation: 2.6 per cent higher than a year ago, up from 2.5 per cent in September
Be Ready preparation advice: Prepare for up to three days of disruption to essential services
Ocado sales growth: Up 12.3 per cent over the 12 weeks to November 1