Stockpiling triggers boom in grocery sales as self-isolating Brits buy 22% more alcohol.

Stockpiling triggers boom in grocery sales as self-isolating Brits buy 22% more alcohol.

Christmas came early for U.K. grocers as supermarket sales in March trumped those usually posted over the festive period and broke all records, new data shows.. Households facing lengthy lockdowns panic-bought long life items such as pasta, rice and tins of vegetables, as they splashed out a hefty £10.8 billion ($13.4 billion) over the past four weeks at Britain's grocers, according to latest figures from market research firm Kantar.. The widely-followed data gives the first insight into the effect stockpiling has had on supermarket sales as investors look to food providers, such as Tesco. , which are increasingly being seen as defensive stocks during the crisis.. Developments in the U.K. grocery market could be seen as a playbook for the U.S. which is slightly behind Britain in terms of the coronavirus crisis.. "Growth has been primarily driven by people making additional shopping trips and buying slightly more, rather than a widespread increase in very large trolleys [carts].". In the four days between Monday 16 and Thursday 19 March, 88% of households visited a grocer, making five trips on average-adding up to 42 million extra shopping trips in less than a week.. Grocer Sainsbury Is Making Big