Britons beat coronavirus lockdown blues with sewing, tequila and kimchi

A survey showed that sales of elastic have soared 15-fold as people make their own face masks amid a shortage of personal protective equipment

Searches online for cuisines including Japanese and Thai food have all seen big increases as well, retailer Waitrose says

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British consumers have spent their six weeks of lockdown eating large quantities of kimchi. Photo: SCMP

Published: 4:45pm, 7 May 2020Updated: 9:23pm, 7 May 2020

British consumers have spent their six weeks of coronavirus lockdown sewing, drinking cocktails, carrying out home beauty treatments and eating large quantities of kimchi.

That is according to a report from John Lewis Partnership Plc on the nation’s shopping behaviour since March 23, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson told everyone to stay at home unless absolutely necessary.

The partnership, which owns the John Lewis department store and Waitrose grocery chains beloved by the British middle classes, said “day-to-day life for Britons across the UK has been transformed as we’ve adapted to new ways of living.”

The research showed that sales of elastic at John Lewis have soared 15-fold as people make their own face masks amid a shortage in Britain of personal protective equipment.

In fact, “the nation’s love of haberdashery is stronger than ever with high demand for sewing machines, needlepoint and knitting yarn,” the retailer said in the report.

Britons are drinking and eating more too. Sales of tequila are up 175 per cent, and liqueur sales have jumped 78 per cent as consumers sample new cocktails at home.

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