Britons Add Paint, Shrubs to Their Virus Stockpiles of Loo Roll

(Bloomberg) --

As most Britons were clearing the shops of pasta, toilet paper and painkillers to weather the coronavirus outbreak, Jenny Yeo’s thoughts were elsewhere: her daughter’s room, which she’d been planning to decorate.

The barrister from Penarth, south Wales, headed to her local branch of home improvement store B&Q and spent 200 pounds ($240) on paint, wallpaper and wood paneling.

“It started off as a joke because everyone was stockpiling toilet rolls, and I thought: ‘I’m going to stockpile decorating stuff so that when I have to spend lots of time in my house, I can decorate it,’” said Yeo, 58. “I shall probably continue to visit B&Q until they close their doors.”

It turns out Yeo isn’t alone. Last week, purchases of paint surged 12.9% on the same week a year ago, according to market research company GfK, while sales of building materials jumped 12.2% and those of tools were up 9.8%.

Britons, it seem, are keen to have something to fill their time as the government advises them to spend prolonged periods in isolation at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s order on Friday to close pubs and clubs put into stark relief the threat of boredom that looms.

“With more of us confined to our homes, the opportunity to undertake home improvement increases –- as does our urge to make our home environment as attractive and calming as possible, and our need for domestic activities to combat the boredom,” said Kelly Whitwick, U.K. retail lead for Market Insights at GfK.

At Kingfishser Plc’s B&Q unit, stores have seen increased sales of decorating materials, including paint, wallpaper and flooring. Brewers Decorator Centres, which has 177 branches around the country, has just had its busiest ever week in March, according to Lloyd Meheux, marketing manager for the 116-year-old chain.

“Customers have said that they are getting ready to do some decorating when they are in self-isolation,” Meheux said in an email interview. “If they are spending time at home then why not make their home brighter and more colorful by giving it a refresh with a coat of paint or wallpaper?”

Helen Boguzas said it’s actually about toning down the colors in her home.

“I’ve finally been spurred on to buy some paint to cover the awful bright pink in our spare room that’s been there for four years,” the 41-year-old teacher said. “Whether I actually get to do it while homeschooling two children and working remotely part-time we’ll see!”

For others, it’s as much about whiling away time as improving their homes. Roger Bennett, a 42-year-old civil servant from Salisbury, said he’s spent 250 pounds on painting materials because his dance classes had been canceled and “I had to find something to keep me sane.”

Trisha Bhattacharya, a solicitor, said she’d stocked up on house plants for her one-bedroom apartment, from where she’ll be working for the foreseeable future. “I can’t have a pet or anything, so this is the closest thing to a living thing I can have,” she said.

And it isn’t just the home improvers who are stocking up: gardeners are at it too. Erika Svenson Bannister, a mother from Letchworth who’ll have to stay at home to look after her two young children now that schools have closed, said she’s stocked up on soil and seeds at her local garden center. “The plan is to get the children involved to give them outdoor time,” she said.

GfK said sales of plants, seeds and bulbs in the past week are up 35 percent on last year. That’s borne out at Coolings Garden Centres Ltd., which has four sites south of London.

“We’ve probably seen between 30% and 40% uplift this week as people are very clearly stocking up for their self-isolation and looking at gardening as the way forward for their wellbeing and mental health,” Coolings Managing Director Gary Carvosso said in an interview.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has likened his administration to a wartime government as it battles the coronavirus outbreak, and some of Carvosso’s observations summon up memories of the U.K.’s World War II “Dig for Victory” poster campaign to get people growing food.

“All the vegetables are flying off the shelves,” he said. “There might be in some people’s minds that wartime approach of supposing food is scarce.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.