Bottled water and tinned food sales surge after UK government issues emergency stockpile advice

Sales of tinned foods, bottled water, wind-up radios and torches have surged after the UK government advised households to prepare for emergencies.

Retailers have reported a jump in sales of items linked to preparation for emergencies such as extreme weather or cyber-attacks. The Be Ready campaign was launched last week with the aim of persuading households to lay in supplies to last 72 hours.

Maplin said sales of torches had almost quadrupled and sales of power banks and radios had doubled. One brand of emergency wind-up radio sold out on Friday.

The specialist technology retailer said sales would have been higher but it was low on stock, particularly for power banks after a summer of heatwaves and the fallout from the Iran war. Home security camera sales were up 130%.

Ollie Marshall, the managing director of Maplin, said: “Within hours of the Be Ready announcement we saw people reach for the basics – a torch, a wind-up radio, a power bank.

“These are simple, affordable products that keep a household connected and informed when the power goes out, and it’s encouraging to see people taking the advice seriously.”

The grocery chain Iceland said sales of tinned products were up 40% over the weekend and it had also seen strong sales of bottled water. A spokesperson said: “It’s clear consumers have listened to the government’s message. Our supplies of these products remain healthy.”

The online grocer Ocado said demand for some products was up and it would “continue to work with suppliers to ensure there is stock for customers to gradually add items to their shops”.

Several major supermarkets said they had seen no material change in demand in tinned goods and that the cooler, stormy weather was more likely to influence demand for soups and beans.

Jim Bligh, food policy director at the British Retail Consortium, said: “While some retailers have seen a small uptick in sales for some products, food availability remains strong and retailers remain well stocked with all essential products.”

The boom in interest for relatively unusual gadgets helped specialist outdoor and “prepper” sites.

Zaid Al-Mufti, founder of survival kit seller EvaQ8, said over the weekend it had sold out of items including a make of wind-up radio and water purification tablets. He said the company had sold about 300 radios compared with the usual 15.

Long-life dried food was also in high demand but Al-Mufti did not expect this to last.

“History has shown us people’s attention span doesn’t last long,” said Al-Mufti who keeps a “grab bag” with emergency gear in his car after time spent in earthquake-prone California where such precautions are normal. “The one time demand lasted was during Covid and we also saw demand when Russia invaded Ukraine.”

Josh Pringle, co-founder of the online store Sgt Prepper, said business had been 10 to 15 times busier than usual last weekend, particularly focused on wind-up radios and long-life food including tins that last for 25 years.

“I have never seen it like this before.” he said, saying the site’s larger wind-up radio had sold out and he was having to hunt for different brands because his supplier did not have enough stock.

While the number of people buying radios and water purification tablets remains relatively low, many more households have been adding tins of food to their weekly shop.

Retail industry insiders said supermarkets had been well prepared for a surge in food and drink sales and had good supplies of the long-life groceries recommended by the government.

While pictures of empty shelves and queues have appeared on social media, industry sources warned against reading too much into the posts.

“Inevitably some people will post pictures online of an empty shelf of water, beans or other products, however the likelihood is that just out of shot is a whole load of alternatives of a different brand available for everyone,” one insider said.