Even before the government officially sent Luxembourg into lockdown in March, shoppers swarmed to supermarkets to bulk buy for the weeks (and months) ahead. Toilet paper was a particular favourite with shops selling 130% more than in March 2019.

Sales continued to be 10% to 20% higher throughout the rest of the year compared to 2019, as a possible side effect of people spending more time at home.

People also stocked up on groceries with a long shelf-life like rice, pasta, couscous, canned goods and non-alcoholic beverages. These were sold a lot less in the following months and sales have since then mostly stabilized.

Some items, however, have remained more popular than before, including flour, herbs and spices, indicating that people acquired a taste for homecooked food while restaurants were mostly shut.

This hypothesis was further supported by there being no dramatic increase in purchases of ready meals since March. Their consumption is below 2019 levels, according to the data collected by national statistics office Statec.

The data was collected from supermarket check-out points and also showed that people bought less fresh bread and pastries. Statec assumes that this is due to shoppers choosing smaller local outlets for convenience.

Grocery sales were also up 17% in August compared to the year before, a sign that fewer people spent time away on holiday or that people anticipated measures based on the surge of the virus in the summer.

Shopping habits also changed in non-food categories. Thermometer sales went up 260% in March 2020 compared to 2019; cleaning products were up 168% over the same time and have continued at around +50% since then.