Sales of tinned food, water and radios surge after UK government urges households to stockpile
Retailers in the UK report a jump in sales of tinned food, bottled water, torches and wind-up radios after the government urged households to prepare for emergencies. Major retail bodies say food supplies remain strong.
Sales of emergency-related goods have risen sharply in the United Kingdom following the launch of the government's "Be Ready" campaign last week. The campaign aims to persuade households to keep supplies to last 72 hours, in case of events such as extreme weather or cyber-attacks. Retailers report stronger sales of tinned food, bottled water, torches and wind-up radios.
Gadgets and survival gear
Maplin, a specialist technology retailer, said torch sales almost quadrupled, while sales of power banks and radios doubled. Home security camera sales rose by 130%. One brand of emergency wind-up radio sold out on Friday. Managing director Ollie Marshall said sales could have been higher, but stock is low after a summer of heatwaves and the fallout from the Iran war.
Zaid Al-Mufti, founder of survival kit seller EvaQ8, said the company sold about 300 radios over the weekend, compared with the usual 15, and also ran out of water purification tablets and other items. Josh Pringle, co-founder of the online store Sgt Prepper, said business was 10 to 15 times busier than usual.
Food and supermarkets
The supermarket chain Iceland said tinned product sales were up 40% over the weekend, with strong sales of bottled water as well. The online grocer Ocado said demand for some products had risen. Several large supermarkets, by contrast, said they had seen no material change in demand for tinned goods, suggesting cooler, stormy weather was more likely to affect soup and bean sales.
Jim Bligh, food policy director at the British Retail Consortium, said food availability remained strong and shops were well stocked with essential products. Industry sources cautioned against reading too much into social media pictures of empty shelves, saying alternative brands were usually available nearby.
Al-Mufti does not expect the surge to last, noting that demand persisted for longer only during the Covid pandemic.
