Accelerated sales spikes at retail continue

Last week Store Brands reported on the second wave of retailer reaction to the coronavirus, formally announcing shopping limits on virus-related items and internal travel bans. The story also included data from Nielsen on products seeing sales spikes from stockpilers on certain items like hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes and foods for the period ending Feb. 29.

Nielsen has launched further numbers for the period ending March 7, compared with a year ago, and the increases continue. Highlights include:

• Overall hand sanitizer sales were up 470% for the period, compared to 313% last week.
• Aerosol disinfectants were up 385.3% (99.6% last week).
• Rubbing alcohol was up 253.8% (65.5% last week).
• Bath and shower wipes were up 180% (nearly 60% last week).
• Multipurpose cleaners were up 148.2% (up nearly 30% last week).
• Paper towels were up nearly 41% (up 6.7% last week).
• Shelf-stable oat milk was up 347.3% (up 322.5% last week).
• Powdered milk products were up 126.3% (up 84.4% last week).
• Fresh meat alternatives were up 206.4% (up 158.3% last week).
• Dried beans were up 62.9% (up 37% last week).
• Rice was up 57.5% (up 25.3% last week).