Hot shoppers turn to web at night

The recent heatwave sparked a boom in late-night internet shopping, according to new research. An increasing number of shoppers are logging on to stock up on their groceries between the hours of midnight and 6am, sales figures from supermarket Tesco reveal. According to Tesco, the boom in night time internet shopping started two days after the hot weather hit Britain last month. David Clements, spokesman at Tesco.com, said: "Instead of counting sheep, thousands of people are turning to their computers instead. In general, online sales between the hours of midnight and 6am have leapt by an incredible 73 per cent." As well as the growing number of orders being placed, Tesco reports that the heat has had an effect upon the sort of goods ordered at night too. Besides the obvious large quantities of soft drinks, beers and ice packs, the most commonly ordered item is greaseproof paper followed by toilet rolls, cooking utensils, silver foil and tomato ketchup. Tesco predicts these unusual items feature high in most lists, because sleepless shoppers are finally getting time to think of all the items which are often forgotten during a normal weekly shop. "So many people have logged on to Tesco.com during the hot weather that each early hour order for food is now referred to as SNOGS - Sleepless Night Online Grocery Sales," adds Clements.