Bottled water sales have jumped 67% following the government’s Be Ready campaign. Find out what families need and how to prepare without overspending.
Shoppers have been stocking up on bottled water, tinned food and hand sanitiser after the government urged households to prepare for emergencies.
But while sales have jumped, the figures suggest people are picking up a few extra essentials rather than panic buying.
New research from Worldpanel by Numerator, published on Tuesday 10 November 2026, reveals how shopping habits have changed since the government’s Be Ready campaign launched last month.
The research also shows that grocery prices are rising slightly faster again, adding to the pressure on family budgets.
What are shoppers buying?
In the 10 days after the campaign launched on 22 October, sales increased compared with the same period last year.
- Hand sanitiser sales jumped 83%
- Bottled water sales rose 67%
- Tinned and jarred food sales increased 37%
The number of people buying tinned meat each day also rose by 43%, equivalent to around 400,000 extra shoppers a day.
However, the typical pack size bought remained at around 500g.
Worldpanel says this shows more people are adding emergency supplies to their normal shopping rather than filling their trolleys with unusually large amounts.
In fact, fewer than a third of households bought bottled water during October.
Why is the government asking families to prepare?
The government’s Be Ready campaign, launched on 22 October, encourages households to have enough basic supplies to manage for three days if essential services stop working.
That could mean a power cut, flooding, severe weather or problems with the water supply.
It doesn’t mean the government is expecting a particular emergency to happen.
Similar advice has been available since 2024, but the government has updated it as part of a new three-year campaign.
The idea is that families who can prepare will be better able to cope with short disruptions, leaving emergency services more time to help people who need extra support.
What should you have at home?
The government’s official Be Ready checklist recommends having:
- Enough drinking water for three days
- Three days of food that doesn’t need a fridge or cooking
- Hand sanitiser, wet wipes and basic toiletries
- A torch, spare batteries and a charged power bank
- A battery-powered or wind-up radio
- Essential medication, first aid supplies and anything needed for babies or pets
The government recommends three litres of drinking water per person per day.
For a family of four, that’s 36 litres over three days, with extra water needed for cooking and washing.
You don’t need expensive emergency food packs. Things such as tinned beans, meat, fish and vegetables that can be eaten without cooking are useful options.
Grocery inflation rises to 2.6%
Alongside the increase in emergency shopping, Worldpanel found grocery price inflation had risen to 2.6% in the four weeks to 1 November, up from 2.5% in the previous four weeks.
That means grocery prices are around 2.6% higher than a year ago, rather than having increased by that amount in just one month.
For example, £100 worth of groceries last year would now cost around £102.60 if prices rose by 2.6%.
Worldpanel says price rises have started picking up again after slowing over the summer, although they’re still rising more slowly than earlier in the year.
The research doesn’t establish that people buying emergency supplies caused prices to rise.
We recently reported on food inflation reaching 2.9% in October, but that figure comes from different research and measures food prices differently.
Skint Dad says:
With food prices already creeping up, the last thing families need is another expensive shopping list.
There’s nothing wrong with being prepared, but it’s worth thinking about what you’d actually be able to use if the power went off.
A cupboard full of tins isn’t much help if you haven’t got a manual tin opener, and food that needs cooking won’t be much use without a way to heat it.
The government’s advice is sensible, but it’s something to work towards, not another bill you need to pay this week.
How to prepare without spending a fortune
You don’t need to rush out and buy everything on the government’s list.
In fact, the advice is to build up your supplies gradually, buying an extra item or two when you can afford it.
Start by checking what you’ve already got.
You might already have several tins in the cupboard, a torch, spare batteries and a basic first aid kit.
Then work out what’s missing.
If your budget allows, consider adding an extra tin or bottle of water to your normal weekly shop.
Supermarket own-brand products can be a cheaper option, but compare prices per kilogram or litre rather than assuming bigger packs are better value.
Try to choose food your family normally eats. You can use it before its best-before date and replace it, rather than leaving it sitting in a cupboard for years.
The government also recommends checking your supplies every six months.
There are free things you can do, too, such as writing down important phone numbers and checking whether you’re eligible for the Priority Services Register, which can help you get extra support during power or water outages.
For more ideas on keeping shopping costs down, see our guide on how to save money on groceries.
And if money is already tight, don’t put yourself under more financial pressure to buy emergency supplies.
The government acknowledges that not everyone can follow every recommendation. Even taking a few small steps can help you be better prepared.
