According to a report by ECO, the heat wave that swept over Portugal in recent days has led to an increase in the consumption of water and other beverages by the Portuguese. Distribution chains report that in some supermarkets sales have soared by more than 50% compared to the previous month, but they do not anticipate selling out of stock.

“Given the heat that has been felt from north to south of the country, the demand for refreshing drinks has increased, both in water and in juices, soft drinks and nectars”, says an official source from Lidl. In the German chain, demand for these drinks recorded a “significant increase” and there was a 56% growth in water sales, compared to June this year, and a 26% growth in the sale of other non-alcoholic beverages.

Mercadona, on the other hand, shows “a growth of around 30%” in terms of sales of bottles of water, while Auchan Retail Portugal reports an overall increase in sales of more than 20% compared to the previous year, underlining that “the greatest growth occurred in Beira Interior region”. The case is similar in Continente stores, with reports, since the beginning of July, of demand for refreshing drinks soaring by more than 20% in volume, compared to the same period last year.

An official source from Sonae MC, owner of this supermarket chain, told ECO that this trend is “cross-cutting across all categories (juices and nectars, soft drinks, beers and water)”, with a special focus on chilled juices, soft drinks and water. Pingo Doce stores also increased sales of water, points out the Jerónimo Martins group company.

Despite the significant increase in demand for water and other refreshing drinks, most supermarkets guarantee that there has been no shortage of stock. Even so, an official source from Jerónimo Martins admitted to ECO that there were “sporadic” stock failures in some Pingo Doce stores, assuring that they were “quickly overcome”.