Shoppers stock up on essentials after government Be Ready campaign

Summarised from 4 outlets · 5 reports · Updated 10 Nov, 11:49 · Archive

Sales of bottled water, tinned goods and hand sanitiser surged in the 10 days after the government launched its Be Ready emergency preparedness campaign on 22 October.

Sales of essential goods jumped significantly in the 10 days after the government launched its Be Ready campaign on 22 October, which encourages households to prepare for emergencies including severe weather and cyber-attacks.

Hand sanitiser sales surged 83% compared with the same period last year, according to retail research firm Worldpanel by Numerator. Sales of bottled water rose 67%, whilst tinned and jarred goods increased 37%. An extra 400,000 people per day bought tinned meat after the campaign launch, though the typical amount purchased remained at about 500g.

The government campaign recommends households keep three days-worth of food and water, along with items such as wet wipes, a torch and cash. Food manufacturer Princes reported that demand for tinned tuna, meat and vegetables had risen following the campaign's launch.

Retail analysts stressed that this represented controlled stockpiling rather than panic buying. Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel by Numerator, said: '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. 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.'

Giuseppe Mastrolia, interim chief executive of Princes Group, said the demand increase 'further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions'.

Separate research from Barclays found that 27% of people were stockpiling or considering accumulating food and drink. Worldpanel's data also showed grocery price inflation rose slightly to 2.6% from 2.5% in the previous four weeks.

How it is being reported

• Sales of tinned food and bottled water jump after 'Be Ready' campaign launchSales of essential goods such as hand sanitiser soar after the government called on households to be prepared for emergencies.BBC Business · 10 Nov, 11:43
• Hand sanitiser or tinned meat? Demand surges for stockpiling essentials amid UK government campaignShoppers began responding to the Be Ready public awareness campaign from 22 OctoberThe Independent · 10 Nov, 11:39
• New figures show just what items households are stockpiling after government's Be Ready adviceCanned goods through to hand sanitiser have seen sales since the government launched a public awareness campaign 10 days agoThe Mirror · 10 Nov, 10:39
• Britons stockpiling water and food tins but not panic buying, figures showShoppers appear to have taken government’s Be Ready campaign seriously, retail analysts say Business live – latest updates British shoppers have been stocking up on essentials such as bottled water, tinned goods and hand sanitiser, but did not panic buy after the government advised people to prepare for emergencies, shopping data has shown. Sales of essentials jumped in the 10 days after the government launched its Be Ready campaign , which encourages households to prepare for up to three days in the event of disruption to essential services from incidents such as cyber-attacks or extreme…The Guardian · 10 Nov, 08:53
• New figures show just what items households are stockpiling after government's Be Ready adviceThe sales of multiple items, including canned goods through to hand sanitiser, have increased since the government launched a public awareness campaign 10 days agoThe Mirror · 10 Nov, 08:23

In this story: Worldpanel by Numerator · Be Ready campaign · Fraser McKevitt · Princes Group · Giuseppe Mastrolia · Barclays

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log