UK Crisis Readiness Call Sparks Surge in Radio and Canned Food Sales
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- Kampanye 'Be Ready' pemerintah Inggris memicu kenaikan drastis penjualan barang darurat, dengan radio portabel dan makanan kaleng menjadi buruan utama.
- Peritel besar mencatat lonjakan hingga 650% pada produk tertentu, sementara pemerintah menekankan pentingnya kesiapan rumah tangga menghadapi gangguan.
- Fenomena ini menyoroti pergeseran perilaku konsumen dan potensi dampak jangka panjang pada rantai pasok serta kebijakan ketahanan nasional.
The UK government's call for citizens to stock up on emergency supplies has triggered a significant wave of shopping at a number of retailers. Data compiled by BBC Newsnight shows a sharp rise in sales of essential goods, from canned food to portable radios, in recent days.
Supermarket chain Iceland reported a 40% surge in sales of canned products over the past weekend. Meanwhile, electronics retailer Maplin recorded increases of 92% for radios, 284% for torches, and 106% for power banks compared with the same period the previous month. Robert Dyas even reported a 160% increase in radio sales compared with the previous week.
The shift in consumer behavior came after Defence Secretary Wes Streeting on 22 October urged the public to store three liters of drinking water per person per day, canned food, baby food, battery-powered torches, and phone chargers. The call is part of the "Be Ready" campaign to prepare for potential crises such as cyber attacks or extreme weather.
"Within hours of the Be Ready announcement, people were immediately looking for the most basic items—torches, crank radios, power banks. Torch sales nearly quadrupled and radios nearly doubled in three days," said Ollie Marshall, Managing Director of Maplin.
A similar response came from independent retailers. Josh Pringle of online store Sgt Prepper's said his sales had surged tenfold. "We were a small shop on Wednesday. Then the government launched the Be Ready campaign and orders came flooding in. Mostly for crank radios," he said. Meanwhile Lincoln Miles, founder of Preppers Shop UK, recorded a 650% increase after the announcement. "Anything off-grid is being snapped up," he said.
Minister Streeting welcomed the public response. "Keeping a few everyday essentials at home, from canned food to torches, helps households prepare for disruption, whether that's flooding, power cuts, or burst pipes. We can all play a part in making Britain more resilient," he told Newsnight.
This phenomenon shows that government appeals can quickly change people's shopping patterns. Nevertheless, a sudden surge in demand could disrupt stock availability at the retail level, especially for products not usually bought in large quantities. Retailers need to anticipate demand fluctuations to avoid unnecessary shortages.
On the other hand, the success of this campaign also raises questions about how prepared the public is for a long-term crisis. Is this shopping surge temporary, or does it mark a permanent shift in consumer behavior? The UK government appears to need to ensure that public enthusiasm is matched by sustained education on disaster risk management.
