Sales of alcohol, tea and coffee in UK supermarkets and corner shops have soared since the lockdown as the nation’s drinking habits have become home-based. The value of beer, wine and spirits sold through grocers was up 41% in the past month, even though pubs in England started to reopen on 4 July, as consumers continue to eat and drink at home. Scottish pubs followed suit on 6 July. Grocery stores also rang up an extra £24m in tea and coffee sales in the past month, and an additional £19m on biscuits – marking a massive shift away from takeaway lattes towards boiling the kettle. The sharp rise in sales of beer, wine and spirits in the past month has underpinned the fastest rise in grocery sales since records began 26 years ago. Sales of groceries, excluding takeaway food and drink, rose nearly 17% in the three months to 12 July, with local shops and online services accounting for the bulk of that growth, according to the market research firm Kantar. While supermarkets and corner shops are benefiting, coffee shops’ espresso machines have gone quiet. Coca-Cola said its sales of tea and coffee had dived by nearly a third in the three months to June, largely due to the temporary closures of nearly all its Costa cafes in western Europe during the period. English pubs that were open in the week beginning 6 July posted a 39% decline in sales, according to a recent study. Hospitality venues have been gradually reopening since lockdown restrictions were loosened this month but just over half of chain-owned sites in England had opened for eating and drinking inside by last week. Mike Watkins, the head of UK retailer and business insight at analysis firm Nielsen, said: “Though restaurants and pubs have reopened, we expect grocery sales to continue growing, as there remains a degree of caution when it comes to dining out. “The demand for staycations will also boost usual summer grocery levels as customers opt to stay at home or holiday in the UK. If the weather stays warm, this will be a boost for the supermarkets.” Online grocery sales jumped 92% in the four weeks to 12 July, rising to 13% of the grocery market from just over 7% before the lockdown started. Independent convenience stores have also benefited from the lockdown, with sales up nearly 60% over the three-month period, as shoppers have wanted to stay closer to home. The Co-operative and Iceland have particularly benefited from the trend to stay local. Separate data from analysts at Nielsen shows almost half of the additional cash spent on groceries during the lockdown period went to convenience stores as families preferred not to travel far to stock up. “We are clearly a long way off a complete return to normality,” said Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. Watkins at Nielsen warned that the looming recession could place a strain on family budgets. He said that spending was likely to be held back as consumer confidence slid 18 points in the second quarter of 2020 to the lowest level since the end of 2013.