Grocery price inflation rose again in October as sales of essential supplies jumped following the launch of the Government’s Be Ready campaign, according to new figures.
Supermarket prices are now 2.6% higher than a year ago, up from 2.5% last month, data from Worldpanel by Numerator shows.
Be Ready campaign drives essential purchases
Sales of essential supplies increased after October 22 as shoppers responded to the Be Ready public awareness campaign, which encouraged households to prepare for up to three days in the event of disruption to essential services.
In the 10 days after, sales of hand sanitiser increased by 83% compared with the corresponding period last year, while bottled water sales rose by 67% and tinned and jarred goods were up by 37%.
The number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch of the campaign increased by 43% – equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day – yet the typical amount bought remained at about 500g, suggesting households are gradually stocking their cupboards.
Retailers report mixed results
Sales at online-only grocer Ocado grew by 12.3% over the 12 weeks to November 1, to reach a record market share of 2.3%. Marks & Spencer, which part-owns the Ocado retail business, separately increased grocery sales through its stores over the same period by 14.6%.
Spending through the tills at Lidl increased 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.
Sales of pumpkins were up 10% year on year as households also prepared for Halloween, while sales of tubs of sugar confectionery were up 28% compared to last year.
