Coronavirus: What's your supermarket doing to fight panic buying and shortages?

Many have introduced restrictions to ensure availability, while some others have brought in changes for older customers.

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Supermarkets are taking steps to prevent panic buying and shortages, as many people prepare to self isolate due to the coronavirus.

They are working on plans to cut cafes, counters and other services to enable a depleted workforce to maintain basic provisions, according to industry sources.

Supermarkets have struggled to keep shelves stocked as shoppers panic-buy some items - despite pleas and reassurances.

Many have introduced limits on products, while others have taken steps to help older people.

Find out what your supermarket is doing amid the coronavirus outbreak.

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Sainsbury's

Restrictions mean customers can only buy two of certain products.

A spokesperson said: "So that all our customers can find everything they need, we're limiting purchases of soap, hand wash, tissues, cleaning products, rice, pasta, UHT milk and pain relief to two of each item."

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Sainsbury's was found to be the cheapest supermarket of 2019
Image: Like others, Sainsbury's has introduced restrictions on certain products

Tesco

The chain has announced that its stores will reduce their hours to between 6am and 10pm.

It is so they can properly restock overnight.

Tesco also has a five-item per person rule in force online and in store for products such as dried pasta, long life milk, wipes, children's medicines, water and tinned vegetables.

Responding to disgruntled shoppers unable to buy toilet roll, Tesco tweeted that it was "working really hard to main availability of those to help customers".

A general view of the Tesco Extra near Stanwell, Surrey where they are investigating a stabbing in which a man rampaged with a baseball bat and knife while hurling racist abuse.
Image: Tesco is said to be planning to cut hours at larger stores

It added: "We have taken a common-sense approach to make sure everyone can assess [sic] essentials and have introduced a maximum purchase limit (5 per customer) on a few items.

"Products include: anti-bac gel, wipes, sprays, bleach, dried pasta, UHT milk, tinned veg, kids medications & water.

"Any other items outside the restriction will be monitored through the store manager's discretion to ensure fairness to all customers."

Asda

The chain is restricting some hand sanitisers to two bottles per person.

Stores across the country are also reported to be reducing opening hours.

Some stores which had been 24 hours are opening from 7am to 10pm or 11pm, according to LancsLive.

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Shoppers empty shelves at Lidl

The move is said to be so staff have time to restock shelves emptied by shoppers.

The shorter hours will also allow staff to clean the shop while there are no customers present - helping to fight off the coronavirus.

Morrisons

It has also placed a maximum order amount on "essential products".

The supermarket giant is also creating 3,500 new jobs as it expands its home delivery service to cope with soaring demand.

It is recruiting around 2,500 pickers and drivers and about 1,000 people to work in distribution centres.

The home delivery boost will see it make more slots available to customers, use another 100 stores for shop picking, set up a call centre for people without access to online shopping and launch a new range of simple-to-order food parcels from 23 March.

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Waitrose

The supermarket introduced restrictions on online purchases when the stockpiling began but the limits were only imposed on certain anti-bacterial soaps and wipes.

On Tuesday afternoon, its website was down, with a message saying it was due to a "high volume of visitors".

Aldi

The budget retailer has restricted customers to buying only four items of any one product.

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It said the amount is "still significantly more than most customers would buy in a normal shopping trip and we hope this temporary restriction will give as many customers as possible the opportunity to get what they need, every time they visit".

Lidl

The supermarket chain is reportedly introducing prioritised queuing and assistance from 9am to 11am for older customers.

The move is said to have come into force on Tuesday morning.

Iceland

A branch of Iceland in Belfast is opening for one hour a day exclusively for older people, allowing customers to stock up on food between 8am and 9am when it is less busy.

Other stores may decide to follow suit, but there is no company-wide policy so far.

Ocado

Ocado customers are being put in a virtual queue with wait times up to several hours
Image: Ocado customers are being put in a virtual queue

The online supermarket is unable to take on new customers due to a surge in demand.

All visitors to its website are being put in a virtual queue, which on Tuesday was listed as "about two hours",

A statement reads on its website: "Sorry for the wait. Demand is very high at the moment so you may have to wait a little longer than usual to access the website.

"We have no new delivery slots for the next few days so please only wait if you are trying to edit an imminent order."