Tinned tuna and hand sanitiser sales soar after shoppers told to stockpile

Sales of emergency supplies rose after the UK government urged households to keep three days’ worth of essentials, including non-perishable food and survival items. The figures suggest shoppers responded to the advice by adding recommended products to their regular shops, while retailers said the campaign had caught them off guard.

In the ten days after the warning, hand sanitiser sales were up 83 per cent year on year, while bottled water and tinned goods sales rose 67 per cent and 37 per cent respectively. Barclays found 27 per cent of adults said they were stockpiling food or drink, and Worldpanel recorded 400,000 more daily buyers of tinned meat. Princes said demand had increased for canned fish, meat, fruit and vegetables; grocery sales overall grew 2.2 per cent in October, with food inflation at 2.6 per cent.