Empty shelves

Interesting article in a recent edition of The Economist magazine on the availability of certain staples in British supermarkets based on data published by the Office for National Statistics: Frozen turkey was in the period from 5 to 8 November with 18% the item with no or low availability, followed by sparkling water (17%) and Ibuprofen (16%). On the other hand there is now also ample supply of toilet rolls, the article which was frequently out of stock last year (and this not only in the UK).

As The Economist rightly states, with lorry drivers being in short supply, transporting heavy but low-margin goods such as bottles of sparkling water may be a low priority. For the frozen turkeys Christmas stockpiling could be a factor. Sales of frozen poultry in October were apparently up by 27% compared with a year ago, and those of Christmas puddings were up by a third. Furthermore, chocolate selection boxes also seem to be in short supply in some of the 288 polled stores. Here as well, maybe stockpiling has played a role, which would mean, that if the Christmas presents your loved ones were intent to get you, at least a box of chocolates should be waiting under the tree for you. And toilet rolls too are widely available, yet that can’t be much of a surprise really, since all the households who emptied the shelves of these last year quite possibly still have enough of them left.

Not included in the survey are Walkers crisps, another British staple, which apparently are also in short supply in most supermarkets. Here the reason seems to be an IT upgrade at the manufacturers, which has disrupted supplies. In the meantime, and if you really must have them, there seem to be some packets for sale at hugely inflated prices on eBay.

But rest assured, widely available everywhere is beer, with only 2% of supermarkets showing no or low availability. So if you can’t get a turkey or don’t get the Christmas present you desired, you can always drown your sorrow with a pint (or three). Just watch out, Paracetamol to cure your hangover is scarce or unavailable in 15% of stores.