London turns to tap as bottled water sales drop

Sales of bottled water have fallen sharply across London, research shows.

Supermarket websites are selling nine per cent fewer bottles to Londoners than last year as customers cut down on non-essentials during the recession.

The decline in the popularity of mineral water also follows the Evening Standard's Water on Tap campaign, which highlighted the environmental benefits of choosing tap water. It called on all restaurants to offer it to diners automatically and appears to have changed consumer attitudes.

A "map" of sales from mySupermarket.co.uk, which links customers to online grocers, reveals that residents of postcodes centred on the areas of Sutton, Twickenham and the north-west of London have cut back most on bottled water, with sales down 44 per cent, 38 per cent and 36 per cent respectively.

But those in Bromley, Watford and east London postcodes are buying more mineral water than 12 months ago, ignoring concerns over the carbon footprint of bottled water. Overall, the price of still bottled water has fallen by one per cent over the past year.

Jonny Steel, spokesman for mySupermarket.co.uk, said: "The decline can be attributed to cost as shoppers start to view bottled water as a luxury in the current economic climate. It seems that initiatives such as the Standard's Water on Tap campaign have had a real long-lasting effect on changing consumer behaviour."