The stockpile essentials most in demand after UK government campaign

A government drive urging households to stock up for emergencies coincided with a jump in sales of essentials last month, as grocery price inflation edged up again.

Figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show supermarket prices are now 2.6 per cent higher than a year ago, an increase from 2.5 per cent in September.

The latest data shows hand sanitiser sales climbed 83 per cent in the 10 days after its launch compared with the same period last year.

Bottled water sales rose 67 per cent over the same window, while tinned and jarred goods were up 37 per cent.

The number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch rose by 43 per cent, equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day. The typical amount bought remained at about 500g, suggesting households are gradually stocking their cupboards.

Meanwhile, tuna maker Princes said demand for goods including tinned fish, meat and vegetables had risen since the Be Ready campaign began in October.

Giuseppe Mastrolia, interim chief executive of Princes Group, said: “The increase in demand for our ambient food products following the UK government’s Be Ready campaign further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions.”

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: “While prices are rising at a slower rate than at the beginning of the year, the direction of travel has changed.

“Household budgets have already taken a hit after the latest increase to the energy price cap arrived with the cold weather in October, and shoppers will be keeping a close eye on prices at the tills this winter.”

Shoppers began responding to the Be Ready public awareness campaign from 22 October.

The campaign encourages households to prepare for up to three days in the event of disruption to essential services.

Mr McKevitt added: “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.”

Halloween also played its part in October's shopping baskets.

Sales of pumpkins were up 10 per cent year on year, while tubs of sugar confectionery rose 28 per cent compared to last year.

Online-only grocer Ocado grew sales by 12.3 per cent over the 12 weeks to November 1, reaching a record market share of 2.3 per cent.

Marks & Spencer, which part-owns the Ocado retail business, separately increased grocery sales through its stores over the same period by 14.6 per cent.

Lidl lifted spending through the tills by 6.6 per cent, resulting in a market share gain of 0.4 percentage points, the greatest of any retailer.

That handed it 8.6 per cent of all sales.

Waitrose was the third retailer to increase share compared with last year, moving up to 4.5 per cent from 4.4 per cent as sales rose by 2.2 per cent.

Morrisons delivered market share of 8.3 per cent as its sales rose by 2 per cent, slightly ahead of the market.

Tesco and Sainsbury's took a 27.8 per cent and 15.5 per cent share respectively.

New Asda chief executive David Potts started his role with a market share of 11.3 per cent, as more than half of households shopped in its stores or online over the last three months.

Aldi, Britain's fourth largest grocer, saw sales up by 0.4 per cent, taking its share to 10.4 per cent.

Co-op's sales were 0.7 per cent higher than a year ago, giving it 5.3 per cent of the market.

Injunctions explained after David Walliams loses High Court bid

First cold health alert of winter issued as UK temperatures to plummet

Government launches investigation into potential Autumn Budget leak

The avoidable fine UK drivers need to know about as temperatures drop

Vodafone axes 3,000 jobs in UK and Europe amid cost cutting drive

David Walliams latest: Comedian accused of sexually assaulting 15-year-old schoolgirl