UK Emergency Stockpile Advice Sends Sales of Torches and Tinned Food Soaring

Torch sales at the specialist technology retailer Maplin almost quadrupled within days of the UK government's Be Ready campaign launch. Power bank and radio sales doubled, and one brand of emergency wind-up radio sold out on Friday.

The government launched Be Ready last week. The campaign urges households to lay in supplies to last 72 hours against emergencies such as extreme weather or cyber-attacks. Shoppers responded fast, and the sales data shows exactly how fast.

What did mainstream retailers report?

The grocery chain Iceland said tinned product sales rose 40% over the weekend. It also recorded strong bottled water sales. 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 had risen. It said it would "continue to work with suppliers to ensure there is stock for customers to gradually add items to their shops".

Several major supermarkets told a different story. They reported no material change in demand for tinned goods and said cooler, stormy weather was more likely to drive sales of soups and beans.

Jim Bligh, food policy director at the British Retail Consortium, played down the risk of shortages. He 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."

How did the 'prepper' market react?

The surge in demand for unusual gadgets delivered a windfall to specialist outdoor and survival retailers.

Zaid Al-Mufti, founder of survival kit seller EvaQ8, said his company sold out of a make of wind-up radio and water purification tablets over the weekend. EvaQ8 sold about 300 radios, against a usual 15. Long-life dried food was also in high demand, though Al-Mufti did not expect the spike to last.

"History has shown us people's attention span doesn't last long," said Al-Mufti, who keeps a "grab bag" with emergency gear in his car after time spent in earthquake-prone California, where such precautions are routine. "The one time demand lasted was during Covid and we also saw demand when Russia invaded Ukraine."

Josh Pringle, co-founder of the online store Sgt Prepper, said business ran 10 to 15 times busier than usual last weekend. Buyers focused on wind-up radios and long-life food, including tins with a 25-year shelf life. "I have never seen it like this before," he said. His site's larger wind-up radio sold out, and he was hunting for alternative brands because his supplier lacked stock.

Why did supply strain show up in gadgets, not groceries?

The pattern of the sales tells the story. The number of people buying radios and water purification tablets remains low. Far more households simply added tins of food to their weekly shop. That spread the grocery demand across the mass market, where supply chains run deep, while concentrating gadget demand on a handful of small specialist sellers with thin inventories.

Maplin itself said sales would have been higher, but it was low on stock — particularly power banks — after a summer of heatwaves and the fallout from the Iran war. Home security camera sales rose 130%.

Ollie Marshall, Maplin's managing director, said: "Within hours of the Be Ready announcement we saw people reach for the basics – a torch, a wind-up radio, a power bank. 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."

What about the empty-shelf photos on social media?

Pictures of empty shelves and queues circulated on social media after the campaign launched. Industry sources cautioned against reading too much into them.

One retail industry insider said: "Inevitably some people will post pictures online of an empty shelf of water, beans or other products, however the likelihood is that just out of shot is a whole load of alternatives of a different brand available for everyone."

Retail insiders said supermarkets had prepared well for a surge in food and drink sales and held good supplies of the long-life groceries the government recommended.

The open question is duration. Al-Mufti's own sales history — two sustained demand events in five years, Covid and the invasion of Ukraine — suggests this spike fades within weeks unless a real emergency follows the government's advice.