Bottled Water and Tinned Food Sales Surge in UK After Government Emergency Stockpile Advice

Sales of tinned foods, bottled water, wind-up radios and torches have surged in the United Kingdom after the 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.' He said these are simple, affordable products that keep a household connected and informed when the power goes out, and it is 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.

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.