Retailers across the United Kingdom have recorded a sharp increase in sales of essential goods following a government campaign urging households to prepare for emergencies, including cyberattacks and extreme weather events.
Iceland supermarket chain reported a 40 per cent rise in sales of tinned products over the weekend, while retailers selling emergency supplies also experienced significant growth in demand for torches, radios and portable phone chargers.
The increase followed Defence Secretary Wes Streeting’s October 22 advice that households should keep essential supplies to cope with potential disruptions.
He recommended storing three litres of water per person daily, tinned food, baby food, battery-powered torches and mobile phone charging packs.
According to figures obtained by BBC Newsnight, Robert Dyas recorded a 160 per cent increase in radio sales compared with the previous week.
Maplin also reported a 92 per cent rise in radio sales, a 284 per cent increase in torch sales and a 106 per cent jump in power bank purchases.
The figures from Maplin compared sales since the government’s announcement last week with those recorded during the same period in the previous month.
Maplin Managing Director Ollie Marshall said the government’s campaign had prompted consumers to buy basic emergency supplies.
“Within hours of the Be Ready announcement we saw people reach for the basics – a torch, a wind-up radio, a power bank. Torch sales nearly quadrupled and radio sales almost doubled in three days,” he said.
“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.”
Streeting also welcomed the increase in purchases, saying households could help strengthen the country’s preparedness by keeping everyday necessities at home.
“It’s encouraging that people are taking practical steps to be ready. Having a few everyday essentials at home, from tinned food to torches, helps households prepare for disruption, whether that’s flooding, power cuts or burst pipes. We can all play our part in making Britain more resilient,” he told Newsnight.
Iceland said the rise in sales showed that consumers were responding to the government’s advice, adding that supplies remained available.
“It’s clear consumers have listened to the government’s message as we have seen a 40% increase in sales of tinned products over the weekend and strong sales of bottled water too. Our supplies of these products remain healthy,” a spokesperson for the supermarket chain said.
Independent retailers specialising in emergency preparedness also reported substantial increases in orders following the launch of the government’s Be Ready campaign.
Josh Pringle, who runs the online store Sgt Prepper’s, said sales had increased tenfold after the announcement, with wind-up radios among the most popular items.
“We were a small outfit on Wednesday. And then the government launched the Be Ready campaign and we couldn’t believe what we were seeing – order after order after order. Most of them were for a wind-up radio,” he said.
Similarly, Lincoln Miles, founder of Preppers Shop UK, told Newsnight that sales had risen by 650 per cent following the government’s announcement, with consumers showing increased interest in products that could be used without conventional power supplies.
