Heatwave boosts sales of hot weather essentials at Asda – here’s how the UK is coping with the rising temperatures.

Temperatures reached 30 degrees on Saturday, the first time since August 2022, and have remained in the high twenties across the week. Shoppers have been quick to stock-up on hot weather essentials to keep themselves cool amid the heatwave.

Staying safe in the sun

Asda has seen a +140% uplift in sales of suncream year on year as shoppers look to protect themselves from UV rays. The retailer expects this week to be its biggest week in annual suncream sales, beating last year’s peak by +20%.

Sales of kids and baby sunhats have also risen by +50% and +30% respectively as shoppers look to enjoy the sunshine safely.

Cooling off

Asda has seen a huge uplift in sales of ice cream and ice lollies since the hot weather kicked in. Kids lollies in particular have seen a +35% uplift in sales over the past week, while ice pops are up +37% and sales of standard ice cream have also increased by +30% week on week.

Cold beverages are another way Asda shoppers are keeping cool in the heatwave with searches for ice cubes on Asda.com up +150% this week and sales of beer were up +38% year on year.

Taking the plunge into a pool is high on the agenda for shoppers looking to cool down in soaring temperatures, with searches for Paddling Pools up over +400% week on week.

Getting together over a BBQ

Data shows that shoppers are getting together with friends and family over the grill to celebrate the sunshine. George Home saw a +50% year on year uplift in the last week on its outdoor products, driven by increases in sales of Charcoal BBQs and Picnic accessories**.**

Asda has seen a huge 67% uplift in year-on-year sales of Burgers and accompanying dishes including Coleslaw (+20%), Salad Dressing (+24%) and Prepared Salads (+8%) also saw an uplift.

Asda’s OMV vegan BBQ range is proving extremely popular with shoppers in the heatwave as they take to social media to share their love. One fan said “Picked up some of the latest OMV products from @asda and I’m impressed. Those little skewers are to die for!” another added “I’m literally obsessed with Asda OMV burger sauce!”.

Commenting on the trends, a spokesperson at Asda said:

“While the sun has been shining, we’ve been making sure that our shelves are stocked with heatwave essentials like sun cream and ice cubes so shoppers can get what they need to enjoy the rising temperatures.

“We’ve also just announced that we’re freezing the prices of over 500 branded and own-branded products as part of our price lock initiative to give customers the confidence they can shop the products they love throughout summer. The price lock runs until the end of August and includes cupboard essentials such as cereals, pasta and tea, as well as summer favorites such as salads, burgers and ice cream.”

Asda is also giving customers the chance to have their summer essentials delivered to their homes for free with a new, limited time offer. Shoppers can sign up for a free trial of Asda’s delivery Pass service that removes the delivery charge on online orders and gives shoppers access to a host of benefits. To access the trial, which is available between 13th June - 10th July, all customers need to do is sign up to one of Asda’s delivery pass services.

As an extra boost to budgets, Asda Rewards continues to help customers earn pounds, not points, every time they shop in the store or online. More than five million customers now use the app every month and have been growing their cashpots to help reduce their grocery bill, earning over £100m in total so far this year.