Hundreds of shoppers were seen lined up outside supermarkets before the doors opened today after retailers enforced strict rationing measures to deal with a surge in panic-buying.
Retailers have stressed there is plenty of food in the supply chain but shoppers need to act responsibly to ensure everyone can get what they need, particularly the most vulnerable who may find regular shopping difficult.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s are limiting customers to only buying three or any grocery item, while Asda and Morrisons are restricting purchases across 1,250 regularly-bought lines.
Meanwhile, several supermarkets have introduced shopping hours exclusively for the elderly at the start of the day. It comes amid a surge of coronavirus cases across the country, with 104 deaths and London facing a possible lockdown.
Shoppers queuing outside a Sainsbury’s in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, which was hosting an elderly-only hour this morning
A Sainsbury’s in London also saw large queues of people outside this morning as supermarkets took measures to ration certain products
Older shoppers walked past empty shelves that had stocked loo roll at a Sainsbury’s in Norwich today
A Tesco Extra in Mansfield at 3.30am this morning, as supermarkets struggled to keep up with the dramatic increase in demand
The biggest chains were dramatically stepping up rationing measures yesterday amid the stockpiling as millions prepare for weeks of home quarantine. The demand has also led to angry scenes as people battled over household essentials.
Stores are imposing strict limits on the purchase of essentials from baby formula and nappies to paracetamol, hand sanitisers, cleaning products, tinned food, long life milk, pasta and toilet rolls.
And, yesterday, the country’s biggest supermarkets, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, went much further with new limits of three items across all food and grocery products.
It came as Ocado last night shut down its website and app after being swamped with orders. Customers will not be able to book a new delivery or edit existing orders until Saturday, at the earliest.
Supermarkets have held emergency talks with police forces to ensure urgent help amid concerns that aggressive shoppers have left staff in tears and fearing for their safety.
The incidents raise worries the country could see the emergence of food riots that were controversially predicted at the beginning of the crisis.
Items that are now selling out, and subsequently being rations, at supermarkets up and down the country, include long-life milk, cleaning fluids, toilet rolls and pasta
Customers queue to pay for their shopping today in an Asda supermarket in West Bridgford, Nottingham
Elderly people wait for a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Hertford to open to stock up on essentials today
Older customers queue outside a Sainsbury’s in Leamington Spa today for a so-called ‘silver hour’
There was a queue of hundreds of shoppers outside a Sainsbury’s this morning in Norwich, Cheshire
Waitrose has set a maximum cap of between two and 12 items across as many as 400 products.
And Morrisons, which has seen a 15 per cent rise in sales in the past two weeks, is putting a cap on purchases across 1,200 products. These include a limit of four per customer for packs of baby milk formula.
Similar restrictions are being imposed by other retailers. Aldi is not allowing people to buy more than four of any product line.
Restrictions are also being applied to online orders amid a surge in demand for home deliveries. The rush to buy provisions online means some firms do not have delivery slots available for up to six weeks.
The British Retail Consortium said stores were talking to the police about how to cope with any violence. Its director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie, said: ‘Retailers are well versed in providing effective security measures. We will continue to work with police to protect customers and employees.’
In other safety measures, supermarkets are asking customers to stop using cash, which can carry the virus. Pictured are queues outside Sainsbury’s in Leamington Spa
Retailers have stressed there is plenty of food but shoppers need to act responsibly to ensure everyone can get what they need. Pictured are shoppers outside a London Sainsbury’s today
Queues outside an Asda supermarket in Cardiff as people got up early to stock up on essentials
The extension of rationing is part of a much wider effort by the supermarkets to ensure they maintain the nation’s food supplies.
For example, Tesco and Asda are ending 24 hour opening at hundreds of outlets to allow staff time to re-stock shelves through the night.
And some, such as Iceland, are setting aside one hour at the beginning of the day for older customers, who fear contamination, to shop in peace without any pushing and shoving.
The proportion of Britons who admit to hoarding essentials has risen from one in ten to one in four over the past two weeks.
Sainsbury’s chief executive Mike Coupe, said: ‘We have enough food coming into the system, but are limiting sales so that it stays on shelves for longer and can be bought by a larger numbers of customers.’
In other safety measures, supermarkets are asking customers to stop using cash, which can carry the virus, and pay by card or smartphone to protect staff at the tills.