The government’s “Be Ready” campaign triggered a 10% rise in sales of essential items, but shoppers avoided panic buying, according to Worldpanel by Numerator data. Households instead incorporated recommended supplies into their regular shopping rather than stockpiling.
Sales data showed hand sanitizer purchases jumped 83% year-on-year in the ten days after the government’s emergency checklist was released on October 22. Bottled water purchases increased 67%, while jarred goods saw a 37% rise. Daily tinned meat buyers grew by 43%, adding about 400,000 new shoppers—though average pack sizes remained stable at roughly 500 grams.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, explained the 10% increase in essentials reflected a disciplined approach rather than panic. He stated, “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.” He added, “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.”
The campaign urged households to prepare for potential disruptions, including severe weather or cyberattacks. A separate survey of 2,000 consumers in early November found that 77% had not yet taken any preparatory steps.
Beyond essentials, overall grocery sales climbed 2.2% year-on-year in the four weeks ending November 1, 2026. Annual grocery price inflation reached 2.6%, up slightly from 2.5% in the previous period. McKevitt noted, “Grocery price inflation continued to increase after slowing over the summer. 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.”
Retailers experienced mixed performance. Asda was the only major supermarket chain with declining sales, down 0.5% in the 12 weeks to November 1, matching its performance from the prior period. Its market share dropped to 11.3%, down from 11.6% a year earlier.
Marks & Spencer led growth in fast-moving consumer goods with a 14.6% year-on-year increase, though Worldpanel excludes it from grocery rankings due to its broader retail operations. Stuart Machin, the company’s CEO, noted that including Ocado sales pushed its grocery market share to 4.8%. Ocado itself grew 12.3%, achieving a record 2.3% market share.
Lidl reported 6.6% growth, raising its market share to 8.6%, though its growth rate slowed from earlier double-digit increases. Meanwhile, pumpkin sales surged 10% in October, with 3.3 million households purchasing at least one.
Worldpanel advised that consumers would likely tighten spending ahead of Christmas, making Black Friday a critical moment for shoppers and retailers. McKevitt commented, “Many households will be planning their Christmas spending more carefully this year, making Black Friday an important moment for shoppers looking to make their money go further on big-ticket items, while retailers will be hoping it gets the golden quarter off to a strong start.”
