YAKTRAX
Unless you have heavy-duty snow boots, getting about on foot in the packed snow and ice can be treacherous. No wonder sales of Yaktrax — ingenious rubber clip-on grips that you can attach to any shoe — have gone through the roof.
Asda’s version, Wintertrax (£9), has almost sold out, with 100,000 pairs flying off the shelves since December 1.
Perhaps it’s not surprising, given that a recent survey by the supermarket showed that 67 per cent of customers have previously fallen in the winter months and that seven in ten shoppers would rather stay home than risk falling on the ice.
Yes, they look ridiculous, but so do people who fall over in the snow thanks to inappropriate footwear. Think of them as snow chains for your feet.
SLANKETS
Sales of the Slanket — a fleece blanket with sleeves — have rocketed, with its inventor describing it as the perfect garment for wearing when stuck on the road because of the snow, not to mention on the sofa at home. How many other blankets can you wear and drive in at the same time?
Meanwhile, many other shoppers are investing in ordinary blankets or water bottles to keep the cold out at night. ‘After last year’s unexpectedly cold weather, customers are taking no chances,’ says Peter Ruis, buying and brand director for John Lewis, as sales of heavy duvets jumped 73 per cent and hot water bottles were up 42 per cent on last year.
LUMBERJACK SHIRTS
Could the snow be bringing out the unreconstructed, macho side of men? Blame it on all the snow shovelling, or maybe it’s just the perfect accompaniment to chunky winter boots, but sales of the lumberjack shirt have soared this winter. Debenhams reports a rise of 65 per cent in sales of the traditional check shirts on last year. And with more snow falling, stores are ordering in extra stock to cope with the demand.
SNOODS - FOR MEN
Sir Alex Ferguson may have banned Manchester United players from wearing them, but that hasn’t stopped other professional footballers from sporting snoods over the past three frosty weekends, from Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez and Liverpool’s Pepe Reina to Arsenal’s Samir Nasri.
Off the pitch, sales of the male neck tube are soaring. The Adidas TechFit 360 Warm Snood has sold out on Amazon, while search engine Bing has reported a 600 per cent increase in searches for the term ‘snood’.
BIRD SEED
Many of us may have been snowed in this month, but it hasn’t stopped caring Britons from looking after hungry wildlife in our gardens. Proving we really are a nation of animal-lovers, demand for bulk bags of bird seed has increased by 585 per cent at B&Q, while the chain also sold around 800 bags of seed blends for native birds, such as robins and blue tits.
SKIN SAVERS
WintRY winds blasting the skin, and central heating drying it out leave hands and lips chapped. At Asda, sales of hand cream are up 43 per cent on average, while John Lewis had seen lip salve and hand cream flying off the shelves twice as fast as usual.
COMFORT FOOD
With plummeting temperatures, this is no time for dieting. Sales of comfort food have rocketed, with the Co-operative reporting sales of steak and ale pies up 195 per cent, premium sausages up 118 per cent and rice pudding up 652 per cent on last year. Helen Bridgett, head of food strategy at the Co-op, says: ‘Our shoppers are proving traditional favourites and British classics are best when it comes to warming up.’
Meanwhile at Waitrose, pie sales have risen by 53 per cent and larder staples, including canned soup, UHT milk and powdered milk, also rose by more than 50 per cent as shoppers prepared to batten down the hatches.
SLEDGES
A snowY day means only one thing to children: sledging! That’s if you can find one, of course. Harrods has sold out of sledges, while sales at B&Q hit 3,000 at the start of the month. ‘We’ve had to order an extra 10,000 to meet customer expectation,’ says a store spokesman.
In a word, ugg boots is the most popular thing in every winter.
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