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Sales of rosé, burgers, fans and even dog ice-cream are soaring as the UK prepares for a sweltering weekend and record temperatures on Monday and Tuesday.
The off-licence chain Majestic Wine said sales of the pink wine were up 49% compared with last week as temperatures soared above 26C, the level the retailer has pinpointed as the moment we reach for the rosé.
Rosé outsold white and red wines by more than 172,000 bottles this week, with one sold every 12 seconds amid the hot temperatures.
The grocery chain Aldi is preparing for another bumper weekend after retailing more rosé wine last week than any other weekend over the past 12 months.
Ice-cream sales are also soaring, up 150% last week on the same period last year.
Tesco said it was expecting shoppers to indulge in more than 9m ice-creams and lollies this week, a new record, while Sainsbury’s is expecting takeaway ice-cream sales to more than triple on Saturday and soar to almost five times this week’s levels after climbing 418% last week on the week before.
Ready-mixed cocktails in tins, such as gin and tonic, are expected to find their way into shopping baskets too, with sales set to climb by up to 30% at Sainsbury’s.
Families are making preparations as the UK government issued its first ever national emergency red alert for heat, with the mercury expected to rise to record levels on Monday and Tuesday, with central and eastern England at the centre of the heatwave.
The UK Health Security Agency increased the “heat-health warning” alert for England to level 4 – the highest possible for the first two days of next week when the Met Office has forecast temperatures will reach 40C for the first time.
Aldi said online sales of electric fans were up by more than 5,000% while paddling pools and deodorant sales had reached record levels.
Online grocery specialist Ocado said ice-cream and ice-lollies were topping its online searches this week – with the number of shoppers seeking a lolly doubling. The retailer is also doing a brisk trade in ice-cream for pets, with sales up 87%. It stocks the St Jude’s brand, whose recipe uses a mix of fruit press and ingredients such as pea protein.
Suncare products are flying off the shelves – with sales at Sainsbury’s up 795% versus this time last year and +270% versus last week.
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Searches for barbecue food and meat more than doubled as the UK prepares to relax with some outdoor dining.
Sainsbury’s said sales of burgers were up 62% and Tesco is expecting to sell 900,000 packs of barbecue meat and 800,000 packs of burgers and 200,000 packs of veggie sausages and burgers as the nation gets ready to grill.
Lisa McDowell, the brand director of Ocado Retail, said: “This weekend is set to be another scorcher. We’re expecting barbecues and picnics to be top of the agenda yet again.”
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