Coronavirus: the departments where the French flock the most to supermarkets

The panic continues in supermarkets in France. After an unusual peak of sales observed for Saturday 29 February, with in particular double the amount of pasta sold compared to a traditional Saturday, the figures confirm this: the French are making reservations for fear of the coronavirus epidemic. During the entire week from February 24 to March 1, 2020, the sales of mass consumer products (food products, cleaning and hygiene products) increased by + 6.2% in turnover, according to the data. of the Nielsen Institute identified by LSA. With peaks of + 7.8% on Saturday 29 February and also of + 21.4% on Sunday 1 March compared to the normal average.

Nielsen also provides top 10 sales by department for the week of February 24 through March 1. And it is Île-de-France that wins the prize: sales of consumer products have increased by + 15.5% on average in the region. The Hauts-de-Seine department comes first with a + 21% increase in sales, followed by the Yvelines at + 20% and Paris at + 18%. Then follow the departments of Val-d'Oise (+ 15%), Essone (+ 15%), Val-de-Marne (+ 14%), Seine-et-Marne (+ 14%) and from Seine-Saint- Denis (+ 13%).

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The departments of Île-de-France therefore occupy the first eight places in this top 10. In ninth position we find the department of Hérault (34), which recorded a growth in sales in the last week of February. consumer products by + 13%. And in tenth position Haute-Garonne (31) at + 12%. More surprisingly, the most contaminated geographical areas at the end of February (called "clusters") did not necessarily register such significant sales peaks. Supermarkets around Creil, in Oise (60), recorded an average increase in sales of + 11%. The same is true for the Morbihan department (56), which saw an increase in consumer product sales of between + 3 and + 5% in the same week.