There is another wave but this time it is not of Covid but of panic buying across UK supermarkets as tighter restrictions are expected to be announced soon.
There is another wave but this time it is not of Covid but of panic buying across UK supermarkets as tighter restrictions are expected to be announced soon.
Panic buyers back
Images of empty shelves in large supermarkets, similar to those from last year’s first lockdown have been revealed.
Tons of food in the frozen and fresh sections were completely out of stock inside a Tesco in Cambridge yesterday.
Shoppers have been seen outside a supermarket carrying vast amounts of products including one woman seen with dozens of loaves of bread and cleaning products.
Sainsbury’s temporarily limited access to its online groceries service at the start of the new lockdown last week in order to “manage high demand for slots and updates customers were making to existing orders.”
Tesco held talks to review the item limit for online baskets, as well as product restrictions for popular items such as toilet rolls, antibacterial wipes and pasta.
Many supermarkets have tightened their own rules in response to the Covid crisis with masks-wearing now compulsory and visitor numbers limited.
The new round of panic buying begun at the beginning of the third lockdown and therefore was a direct consequence of the additional measures imposed. With increasingly strict measures soon to come in to place, it remains unclear as to whether retailers will be able to keep up with demand.
Pictures have shown shelves bare and shoppers leaving with trolleys piled high with a variety of different items. Toilet roll, vegetables and rice were amongst the products running low in stores. Retailers also reported a massive rise in demand for online delivery slots after the lockdown announcement.
