Grocery price inflation edged up again in October as sales of essentials jumped following the launch of the government's Be Ready campaign, figures show. Supermarket prices are now 2.6% higher than a year ago, up from 2.5% last month, according to data from Worldpanel by Numerator.
Campaign Urges Households to Prepare
The Be Ready campaign was launched by the government last month as the first part of a three-year initiative. As part of the campaign, the government has urged UK households to prepare for a potential emergency that could last up to three days.
A large part of the Be Ready campaign focuses on gathering enough essential items such as food and water to last families for three days in the event that their home loses power due to an uncontrolled event such as severe weather. Instead of stockpiling, the government encouraged households to grab a few extra non-perishable items each time they shop to gradually build up emergency supplies.
Sales of Essentials Jump
Sales of essential supplies jumped from October 22 as shoppers responded to the campaign. In the 10 days following the launch, sales of hand sanitiser increased by 83% compared to the corresponding period last year, while sales of bottled water rose 67% and tinned and jarred goods were up 37%.
The number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch rose by 43%, equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day. However, the typical amount bought remained at about 500g, suggesting households are gradually stocking their cupboards.
Retailers See Mixed Results
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said: "While prices are rising at a slower rate than at the beginning of the year, the direction of travel has changed. Household budgets have already taken a hit after the latest increase to the energy price cap arrived with the cold weather in October, and shoppers will be keeping a close eye on prices at the tills this winter."
McKevitt added: "Shoppers clearly took notice of the Be Ready campaign, but this wasn't panic buying, with less than a third of households buying bottled water in October. Growth came from more people adding the recommended items on the Government's checklist to their weekly shop, not from shoppers piling their trolleys high, which is very much in line with what the Government wanted households to do."
Sales at online-only grocer Ocado grew by 12.3% over the 12 weeks to November 1, reaching a record market share of 2.3%. Marks & Spencer, which part owns the Ocado retail business, increased grocery sales through its stores by 14.6% over the same period.
Lidl saw spending through the tills increase by 6.6%, resulting in a market share gain of 0.4 percentage points, the greatest of any retailer, handing it 8.6% of all sales. Waitrose moved up to 4.5% from 4.4% as sales rose by 2.2%.
Sales at Morrisons rose by 2%, delivering market share of 8.3%, while Tesco and Sainsbury's took a 27.8% and 15.5% share respectively. New Asda chief executive David Potts started his role with a market share of 11.3%, as more than half of households shopped in its stores or online over the last three months. Sales were up by 0.4% at Aldi, taking share to 10.4%, while Co-op's sales were 0.7% higher than a year ago to give it 5.3% of the market.
