Sales up by HALF in supermarket frenzy

And even if stockpiling fizzles out, store chiefs expect profits surge to run on for months

PANIC buying sent sales soaring by more than 50 per cent at supermarkets last week as shoppers s pooked by t he coronavirus rushed out to stockpile everything from toilet roll to dried pasta.

Senior sources at major chains said spending at individual shops had hit even higher levels as lines that have waned in popularity in recent years – such as tinned meat or vegetables and long-life milk – flew off the shelves.

‘Food keeps coming in but the shelves are being picked dry,’ said a director at one major grocery chain. ‘Normally supermarkets work on the basis that, with a fair wind, we can grow sales marginally by one or two per cent on last year. But sales have gone up 50 per cent, even 70 per cent in some cases.’

A senior source at another major grocery chain said his stores had seen ‘waves of demand hitting each category in turn’.

First, household products such as toilet roll and cleaning products were snapped up. Then it was so-called ambient foods which can be stored for weeks or months, such as dried pasta, packets of cereal and tinned food. Finally, in the second half of last week, shoppers started clearing the shelves of fresh food such as fruit and vegetables.

Referring to astonishing scenes of long queues outside supermarkets and fights breaking out over increasingly scarce products, the source added: ‘It feels like demand at the moment is still rising day by day so we can’t be sure.

‘But there comes a point when cupboards are full and, while there may be exceptions to this, there is only so much toilet roll the average person wants in their house.’ It is understood top- level discussions have been held between supermarket bosses and t he Government about when stockpiling might reach its peak.

The discussions have centred on evidence from other countries that have already experienced the same behaviour. This indicates that frenzied demand may begin to subside as soon as this week ‘once people realise the food is going to keep coming and shops stay open’, one source said.

Supermarkets said last week they were taking steps to reduce the number of options for some food categories, such as pack sizes or varieties of tinned or packaged food, to make it easier for suppliers to meet the surge in demand.

One source said it might mean less choice and that parts of some stores may resemble ‘a 1980s Eastern European supermarket’ for a period but that it would ease the potential for outright shortages.

The unprecedented demand will be a boon for Britain’s largest grocers which have been battling with rising competition and stagnant sales. One retail director at a national chain said, even after the initial panic-buying subsides, demand at grocery chains is likely to continue at ‘double figures’ throughout the crisis as pubs and restaurants close amid efforts to contain the virus.

The director added: ‘All the money normally spent on Friday nights or Sunday lunchtimes – like Mother’s Day this weekend – will be heading for supermarkets and convenience stores. Staying in is the new going out whether we like it or not. With other high street stores shutting up shop for the foreseeable future, there aren’t going to be that many places to spend money.’

Major chains have sought to alleviate the rise in demand by agreeing new arrangements with suppliers. Morrisons said one Italian supplier had agreed to ship food via sea and through ports rather than overland through France, to avoid crossing borders.