It was announced today that Morrisons will be limiting the sale of essential items in a bid to stem panic buying. Purchases of items such as cleaning products and toilet rolls are amongst the lines which are being limited.
This comes after a surge of panic buying following the Prime Ministers announcement, on Tuesday, of stricter Covid measures. Across social media, images have been shared of empty shelves which bear a striking similarity to the early weeks of March this year.
The British Retail Consortium has been keen to emphasise to the public that panic buying is unnecessary, stating that consumers should “shop as you normally would” and insisting that supply chains are “stronger than ever”. Other supermarket chains have said that despite some shops being pictured with empty shelves, they have “good availability” and there is no reason for the public to panic.
Over the last 6 months, improvements have been made across all of the major supermarket chains to ease pressure on stores and provide access for all. Tesco, for example, has created over 500,000 extra home delivery slots per week to keep up with demand; with other retailers also increasing home delivery and collection options.
As with the national lockdown in March, people are being encouraged to make sure that they buy only what they need, to ensure that there is enough to go around. Customers are also being reminded to ensure they are wearing face coverings while shopping and observe social distancing rules.
