Supermarkets and Covid-19

[341o2]

Last time, people who followed the instructions to only buy what they needed were hardest hit; if they had to isolate they didn't have enough stock in, and at that point couldn't go out and couldn't get deliveries. So I can see why people are being cautious this time. It is clear that the government haven't really done a lot of preparation for the problems this winter could cause so as individuals we have to do our own preparation. This doesn't mean filling the attic with loo roll, but everyone buying an extra pack for the reasons above soon adds up.

Agree, when lockdown was announced in March, went for my normal weekly shop on Monday. Just planned to visit Lidl, 2/3 shelves empty and only allowed 3 per product line (had five tins of beans in trolley) Tesco even worse, almost completely bare apart from alcoholic drinks. Fortunately in an area where there are not many cases of the virus, but don't want to be caught out a second time

 

[Cowley]

Mole Valley is a district in Sussex, where the River Mole rises near Horsham and joins the Thames near Hampton Court Palace. Mole valley recently took over Scats and rebranded themselves as Mole Country stores

Thanks for that. That makes far more sense!

 

[DelayRepay]

The only slight complexity is that they have been working at growing the market for home delivery since lockdown ended, and there will be a lot of people who aren't shielders but are now used to getting deliveries rather than going to the shops. People who can't or won't wear masks are likely to form a proportion of those, so there might be some interesting arguments at the doors of Asda if the delivery slots all have to go back to shielders.

There will also be a lot of people, like me, who've paid for subscriptions to get free deliveries. They won't be very happy if there are no slots available due to prioritising shielders. But there are more options, e.g. the rapid expansion of the Amazon Prime Now/Morrisons service. As this uses self employed drivers in private cars, it probably has scope for further rapid expansion, especially if people aren't too fussy about the time they get their delivery.

 

[takno]

There will also be a lot of people, like me, who've paid for subscriptions to get free deliveries. They won't be very happy if there are no slots available due to prioritising shielders. But there are more options, e.g. the rapid expansion of the Amazon Prime Now/Morrisons service. As this uses self employed drivers in private cars, it probably has scope for further rapid expansion, especially if people aren't too fussy about the time they get their delivery.

I'm interested in how scalable that really is. On the face of it sounds like a really expensive pilot to get them data ahead of doing a more organised offering. If that's the case then they probably won't attempt to scale it at all

 

[DelayRepay]

I'm interested in how scalable that really is. On the face of it sounds like a really expensive pilot to get them data ahead of doing a more organised offering. If that's the case then they probably won't attempt to scale it at all

I think using the Morrisons stores was a way to introduce it really quickly, at a time when demand for deliveries was exceptional. I doubt they're making much - delivery is free if you spend over £40 so the only profit is whatever Morrisons make on the groceries and a couple of pounds from anyone who subscribes to Prime for the service. I would imagine longer term they'll move to an operation like Ocado with everything picked at an automated warehouse and delivered in vans with chillers and freezers. But if demand increased in the short term it would be easy to get more drivers. Picking of orders could be done early morning before the store opens.

Perhaps responsive to short term spikes in demand is a better expression than scalable.

 

[takno]

I think using the Morrisons stores was a way to introduce it really quickly, at a time when demand for deliveries was exceptional. I doubt they're making much - delivery is free if you spend over £40 so the only profit is whatever Morrisons make on the groceries and a couple of pounds from anyone who subscribes to Prime for the service. I would imagine longer term they'll move to an operation like Ocado with everything picked at an automated warehouse and delivered in vans with chillers and freezers. But if demand increased in the short term it would be easy to get more drivers. Picking of orders could be done early morning before the store opens.

Perhaps responsive to short term spikes in demand is a better expression than scalable.

I'm about to dump prime because their free video offering has gone to pieces, and I can't see this tempting me back. Might work out for some people though I guess

 

[MattA7]

What I found shocking is my Asda closed off a lot of the disabled parking spaces for queueing meaning disabled people had to park far from the supermarket. However I notice the didn’t dare close the Karen spaces

 

[Darandio]

What I found shocking is my Asda closed off a lot of the disabled parking spaces for queueing meaning disabled people had to park far from the supermarket. However I notice the didn’t dare close the Karen spaces

There are no Karen spaces because Karen normally parks in a disabled space whether she is entitled to it or not.

I cannot even believe i'm talking about Karen, it annoys the hell out of me when I read a post containing it.

 

[ChrisC]

Did anyone else, like me, completely change their shopping habits at the beginning of the lockdown in March and have still not returned to previous shopping patterns.

Before lockdown I did the bulk of my shopping at larger stores, perhaps shopping there a couple of times a month. This was mainly Sainsbury’s about 6 miles from home and occasionally Waitrose about 15 miles from home. In between I would do small shops, mainly for essential fresh items, at a small village Co-Op less than a mile from home and a Sainsbury’s local about 2 miles from home. Very occasionally, no more than a 3 or 4 times a year, I would have a large online delivery from Ocado or Sainsbury’s, especially for heavier items and sometimes to top up the freezer.

I now haven’t been in a large supermarket since the middle of March, when I found the shelves empty due to all the panic buying. Most of my shopping is now done in the neighbouring village, about 2 miles away, at small independent shops including, butchers, bakers, greengrocer, deli and chemist. I do still use the local village Co-Op and a Sainsbury’s Local to top up with a few items difficult to obtain in the small independent stores. The friendliness and service has been fantastic. The quality of the food and the amount of locally produced food has been amazing. The prices may be slightly higher, but not as high as I had expected. I have not had to experience any of the queues or one way systems that I read about in this forum. Just occasionally a couple of minutes wait outside a shop for the previous customers to come out.

These shops have appreciated my custom. I have got to know the staff and they have got to know me. I have not gone back to the large supermarkets and I don’t think that I will. If Christmas is not cancelled I will look forward to experiencing the seasonal foods they have to sell. I have also found the staff and service very good whenever I have visited my local small Co op.

 

[Bikeman78]

What I found shocking is my Asda closed off a lot of the disabled parking spaces for queueing meaning disabled people had to park far from the supermarket. However I notice the didn’t dare close the Karen spaces

Sainsburys in Cardiff has filled up most of the cycle tracks with trolleys. I have to squeeze past the queue to park my bike.

 

[Busaholic]

What I found shocking is my Asda closed off a lot of the disabled parking spaces for queueing meaning disabled people had to park far from the supermarket. However I notice the didn’t dare close the Karen spaces

Same with Tesco in my area, and nearest Waitrose even worse because they left disabled spaces open then made you walk about two humdred yards via a maze to get into store (longer if queue) rather than the twenty or so yard direct access. You were better off finding an ordinary parking space which is great if you're capable of exiting your car without the door being open to its fullest extent, which I'm not.

 

[Meerkat]

Not a single supermarket delivery available for a fortnight here. Click and collect a bit thin on the ground too. What is wrong with people? No one ran out of food in March, the supermarkets didn't close. Are these restrictions responsible for some sort of collective madness?

No one ran out of food? Maybe not literally going hungry, but those who listened to people like you in March soon found they couldn’t get many things they wanted and needed. Those heartbreaking photos of old people looking at empty shelves might not have been representative, but they did happen (and old folk can’t just jump in the car and go round all the shops looking). A non-driving, working, single mother colleague of mine was literally down to her last few sheets of loo roll when her daughter brought some round (and that was via a shop worker bagging them before they went on the shop floor).
A lot of people will remember that stress, will harrumph at “there’s no shortages” assurances, and make sure they get their panic shopping in first.

 

[adc82140]

You contradict yourself. If people "listened to people like me" then there would be no panic buying and therefore no bog roll shortage. Supply chains are sound. People should shop as normal and stop being so selfish.

 

[birchesgreen]

You contradict yourself. If people "listened to people like me" then there would be no panic buying and therefore no bog roll shortage. Supply chains are sound. People should shop as normal and stop being so selfish.

People should, but they don't. The sensible person will get screwed by the idiots. That's just the way it is.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

You contradict yourself. If people "listened to people like me" then there would be no panic buying and therefore no bog roll shortage. Supply chains are sound. People should shop as normal and stop being so selfish.

I would assume most of the people who panic bought 300 bog rolls back in March still have over 200 left. It's not like they have a 'best before date', is it?

 

[DelayRepay]

You contradict yourself. If people "listened to people like me" then there would be no panic buying and therefore no bog roll shortage. Supply chains are sound. People should shop as normal and stop being so selfish.

What is selfish about ordering an extra loo roll, knowing that you may need to implement a household isolation at any time, and therefore need enough in to last for 14 days (plus the days between shopping and the start of isolation, so for many families that's three weeks)?

I think selfish would be not taking steps to prepare. Selfish would be finding yourself having to break isolation rules and potentially spread covid to other shoppers because you'd not prepared even though having to isolate is quite likely. Or selfish would be having to call on volunteers and charities to bring you shopping because you didn't prepare.

There is no reason for the shops to run out because people buying a bit more was entirely predicable and the shops should have enough stock in the supply chain to cope.

 

[Meerkat]

You contradict yourself. If people "listened to people like me" then there would be no panic buying and therefore no bog roll shortage. Supply chains are sound. People should shop as normal and stop being so selfish.

There is a big difference between ‘everybody’ and individuals. Individuals got burnt last time believing statements like yours, they won’t want to get burnt again.

 

[DelayRepay]

Did anyone else, like me, completely change their shopping habits at the beginning of the lockdown in March and have still not returned to previous shopping patterns.

Yes. In my previous life I worked in an office in the town centre close to two big supermarkets. I used to small shops in one or the other most evenings after work, just buying things as I needed them. I kept some food in at home but I didn't really plan my meals in advance, I'd just buy whatever fresh food I fancied on the day.

We only have a very small convenience store within walking distance, but since lockdown I've used them for things like milk, but their fresh food isn't great either in terms of quality or variety. We have a decent butchers who I like using because I can buy the exact quantity I need.

For my 'big shop' I initially avoided supermarkets and drove to a nearby Co-op because they didn't have all the queues etc.

Now, I do a weekly online 'big shop' and top up with meat/veg from the butcher and milk etc. from the village store.

I have been to the supermarket a few times, but nowhere near as often as I used to before.

 

[adc82140]

What is selfish about ordering an extra loo roll, knowing that you may need to implement a household isolation at any time, and therefore need enough in to last for 14 days (plus the days between shopping and the start of isolation, so for many families that's three weeks)?

I think selfish would be not taking steps to prepare. Selfish would be finding yourself having to break isolation rules and potentially spread covid to other shoppers because you'd not prepared even though having to isolate is quite likely. Or selfish would be having to call on volunteers and charities to bring you shopping because you didn't prepare.

There is no reason for the shops to run out because people buying a bit more was entirely predicable and the shops should have enough stock in the supply chain to cope.

There's a big difference between buying bog roll for a fortnight (not sure about everyone else but we normally buy a big pack that lasts 3 weeks anyway because it's cheaper) and filling your trolley up like some people are.

 

[Meerkat]

There's a big difference between buying bog roll for a fortnight (not sure about everyone else but we normally buy a big pack that lasts 3 weeks anyway because it's cheaper) and filling your trolley up like some people are.

I wouldn’t want to judge without knowing how many people they are buying for.....

 

[DelayRepay]

There's a big difference between buying bog roll for a fortnight (not sure about everyone else but we normally buy a big pack that lasts 3 weeks anyway because it's cheaper) and filling your trolley up like some people are.

Are people filling their trollies in the real world, or just in pictures in the paper?

If you do see people filling trollies, how do you know how many households they're buying for?

A good friend of mine received abuse whilst wheeling a trolley piled high with goods from a supermarket. Said friend is a volunteer at the food bank and the trolley contained goods that had been donated by other shoppers. But it's a lot easier to judge other people when you don't know anything about their motives.

 

[Busaholic]

I wouldn’t want to judge without knowing how many people they are buying for.....

There are certain medical conditions which require use of much loo roll, not necessarily to do with bowel function, as I know from personal experience, not that I'd bulk buy them: on the other hand, to be left with less than a 9 roll Andrex pack in hand would be inadvisable and worrying for me in a situation where continuing supply was not assured.

 

[Bantamzen]

Did anyone else, like me, completely change their shopping habits at the beginning of the lockdown in March and have still not returned to previous shopping patterns.

Before lockdown I did the bulk of my shopping at larger stores, perhaps shopping there a couple of times a month. This was mainly Sainsbury’s about 6 miles from home and occasionally Waitrose about 15 miles from home. In between I would do small shops, mainly for essential fresh items, at a small village Co-Op less than a mile from home and a Sainsbury’s local about 2 miles from home. Very occasionally, no more than a 3 or 4 times a year, I would have a large online delivery from Ocado or Sainsbury’s, especially for heavier items and sometimes to top up the freezer.

I now haven’t been in a large supermarket since the middle of March, when I found the shelves empty due to all the panic buying. Most of my shopping is now done in the neighbouring village, about 2 miles away, at small independent shops including, butchers, bakers, greengrocer, deli and chemist. I do still use the local village Co-Op and a Sainsbury’s Local to top up with a few items difficult to obtain in the small independent stores. The friendliness and service has been fantastic. The quality of the food and the amount of locally produced food has been amazing. The prices may be slightly higher, but not as high as I had expected. I have not had to experience any of the queues or one way systems that I read about in this forum. Just occasionally a couple of minutes wait outside a shop for the previous customers to come out.

These shops have appreciated my custom. I have got to know the staff and they have got to know me. I have not gone back to the large supermarkets and I don’t think that I will. If Christmas is not cancelled I will look forward to experiencing the seasonal foods they have to sell. I have also found the staff and service very good whenever I have visited my local small Co op.

I certainly did, after Lockdown v1.0 went live we virtually stopped using the larger supermarkets in favour of a local Co-op and occasionally a Tesco Express, mainly because these were much closer and walkable in the good weather we had. Additionally sweeping cutbacks in bus & train services, and long queues at the large supermarkets risked very long waits for travel back home, or expensive taxi rides. However as the months have gone on we've gone back to more large supermarket shopping, mainly because the Co-op's prices have been steadily rises meaning that it actually works out a lot cheaper to go to Aldi via taxi and back than walking or getting the bus to the Co-op.

 

[DelW]

Mole Valley is a district in Sussex, where the River Mole rises near Horsham and joins the Thames near Hampton Court Palace. Mole valley recently took over Scats and rebranded themselves as Mole Country stores

Thanks for that. That makes far more sense!

Although there is indeed a Mole Valley in Sussex and Surrey, the country stores chain only moved into that area fairly recently when they bought SCATS (Southern Counties Agricultural Traders).

They'd originated as Mole Valley Farmers at South Molton in Devon, which takes its name from another River Mole, rising on Exmoor and joining the River Taw near Kings Nympton. That River Mole gives its name to North Molton as well as South Molton.

They're a useful shop, but unfortunately they closed my local (ex SCATS) branch after the takeover

 

[WelshBluebird]

In terms of deliveries, have those people struggling to get one looked at a different supermarket? I am in Bristol and the only Tesco ones were for 2 weeks time, but Asda had ones for 2 days time when I looked the other day.

 

[AM9]

Have had no problem shopping at all. When the shutters came down in March, Waitrose (which is our corner shop) made the first hour of business exclusively for NHS workers (not anybody who professed to be a 'key' worker) and pensioners or their carers. Despite to opportunity for less scrupulous younger people to lie by claiming that they were carers, it seemed that it didn't happen like that.
In the early days there were empty shelves where the t-rolls should be and it was about 6 weeks before hand sanitiser appeared. Didn't need t-rolls because we already had a 45-roll pack in the loft (as we do now), and handwashing was easily done on returning home, which is actually more effective that sanitiser anyway.
Otherwise we have just reduced our visits to one big shop per week and one or two minor top-ups (bread/milk/fruit) when necessary. Generally the staff heve been fine but because they are all partners they have not been asked to challenge those who think that social distancing, face coverings and following a one-way route rules don't apply to them. Fortunately, most shoppers there seem to be quite compliant with most of those rules.

 

[Huntergreed]

I was chatting to the security guard in Morrison’s this afternoon. Apparently the reason why they have reinstated the queues and temperature scanning in their stores is because they’ve received a high level of complaints from elderly customers who said they didn’t feel safe inside the store and wanted this to be reinstated so they could feel safer. At least that’s what he told me.

 

[Scrotnig]

I was chatting to the security guard in Morrison’s this afternoon. Apparently the reason why they have reinstated the queues and temperature scanning in their stores is because they’ve received a high level of complaints from elderly customers who said they didn’t feel safe inside the store and wanted this to be reinstated so they could feel safer. At least that’s what he told me.

Temperature scanning? Are Morrisons really doing that now?

 

[SJN]

I go to Morrison’s regularly and I’ve never had a temperature scan.

 

[Huntergreed]

Temperature scanning? Are Morrisons really doing that now?

Certainly at the store I was at today (Partick) they were

If it wasn’t a temperature scan then it involved pointing a device at each customer which beeped as they walked past, perhaps this is something else?