Sales of essential goods such as bottled water and canned food soared in the 10 days following the launch of the government’s “Be Ready” emergency preparedness campaign on 22 October, research indicates.
Hand sanitiser sales were up 83%, sales of bottled water rose 67% and tinned and jarred goods climbed 37%, according to data from retail research firm Worldpanel by Numerator.
The government’s public awareness campaign encouraged people to stock up in case of disruption to essential services by severe weather or cyberattacks.
However, Worldpanel said that while households were stockpiling essentials, they were not panic buying.
The government campaign encouraged people to keep three days-worth of food and water in their homes.
Wet wipes, a torch and cash were also recommended.
After the campaign launch, the equivalent of an extra 400,000 people per day bought tinned meat, Worldpanel said, although the typical amount remained at 500g, which suggests a gradual stocking-up.
“Shoppers clearly took notice of the ‘Be Ready’ campaign, but this wasn’t panic buying, with less than a third of households buying bottled water in October,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator.
“Growth came from more people adding the recommended items on the government’s checklist to their weekly shop, not from shoppers piling their trolleys high, which is very much in line with what the government wanted households to do,” he said.
Further evidence of stockpiling came from food firm Princes on Tuesday, which said demand for tinned tuna, meat and vegetables had risen following the government’s campaign.
Princes interim chief executive Giuseppe Mastrolia said the jump in demand “further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions”.
The “Be Ready” campaign warns that severe weather and cyber attacks could disrupt essential services, and British households need to make sure they have what they need – for example, bottled water, and long-life food that doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge such as dried fruit and nuts.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said everyone should have “those supplies in the house to get you through those moments”.
