Overview
- The UK government launched the Be Ready campaign on 22 October, and Worldpanel by Numerator data shows sales of hand sanitiser rose 83%, bottled water 67% and tinned and jarred goods 37% in the 10 days after the warning.
- Worldpanel also reported a 43% rise in the number of daily buyers of tinned meat—about 400,000 more shoppers a day—while the typical pack size remained around 500g, indicating gradual topping up rather than bulk hoarding.
- Grocery price inflation edged to 2.6% in October from 2.5% in September and overall grocery sales grew about 2.2%, with notable retailer movements including Ocado up 12.3%, M&S grocery sales rising 14.6% and Lidl gaining market share.
- Princes Group told investors demand for canned goods such as tuna and tinned tomatoes has increased and the company is negotiating price passes to cover rising input costs, while some retailers reported local sell-outs and urged customers not to overbuy.
- Households face higher winter bills after a recent energy price-cap rise, so shoppers are watching prices at the tills and the market response to the campaign should be monitored for further price moves, supply pressure and changes in retailer stock policies.