Supermarkets have issued guidelines to avoid crowds over the Christmas period, because changes to lockdown rules are expected to lead to more last-minute shopping.
With only a few days to go until Christmas, millions across the UK have had to cancel their plans due to last-minute changes to holiday rule relaxations.
If this means you’re having to squeeze in an unexpected shopping trip, read on for the latest supermarket safety measures.
We’ve also got the latest from industry bodies, who have reassured shoppers that supermarkets are well stocked, so short-term border disruption won’t lead to shortages.
You can scroll down to read the whole story or use the links to skip to particular sections:
- Latest news: supermarkets’ Christmas plans
- Are supermarkets still prioritising vulnerable shoppers?
- Online delivery situation by supermarket
- Essential food boxes: which stores sell them?
To find out what COVID-19 means for your rights, travel, health and lifestyle, check out the latest coronavirus news and advice from Which?.
Latest news: Christmas hours and safety measures
Supermarkets have now announced their Christmas opening hours, with many keeping their doors open until midnight in the coming days to give customers more time to shop safely.
Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and the majority of M&S stores will stay open until midnight on 21-23 December, while Aldi and Lidl will close at 11pm.
Waitrose has also said it will keep some smaller stores open until 11pm on these days, but larger stores will close their doors at 10pm.
Sainsbury’s has advised customers to do their Christmas food shops on 21 or 22 December to ‘beat the queues’. Asda has said it’ll have extra security staff on the doors of its larger stores, and it has made its virtual queuing app available at all 421 superstores to allow shoppers to wait in their cars.
Aldi is expanding its online grocery capacity throughout the Christmas period by offering Deliveroo deliveries from 87 more stores, bringing the total to 129 by the end of the year.
- Find out more: nine things you didn’t know about online grocery shopping
Border disruption reassurances
The temporary closure of the border with France has led to fears of food shortages. But industry bodies have been quick to reassure shoppers that Christmas food supplies are fine.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said, ‘Retailers have stocked up on goods ahead of Christmas which should prevent immediate problems. However, any prolonged closure of the French border would be a problem as the UK enters the final weeks before the [Brexit] transition ends on 31st December.’
Sainsbury’s said, ‘All products for the Great British Christmas lunch are already in the country and we have plenty of these.’ However, it did warn that there could be ‘gaps’ for certain products ‘if nothing changes’ in the coming days.
If the UK and EU work out a solution for what happens after the planned 48-hour travel ban quickly, very little disruption is expected.
- Find out more: lockdown latest – the latest guidance for your area
Are supermarkets still prioritising vulnerable shoppers?
In short, yes.
The BRC told us at the start of the November lockdown that special shopping hours exclusively for the use of vulnerable people and NHS workers weren’t as necessary as they were in the first lockdown because large queues were not forming.
Still, the majority of supermarkets we spoke to at that time did have some kind of priority hours system in place. Supermarkets have been changing their rules around priority hours throughout the pandemic, so it’s worth checking online to see what your local store is doing before you shop.
During the first lockdown, when vulnerable people were asked to ‘shield’, supermarkets used a government list and their own data to identify customers that would need priority delivery slots.
Now England is under a tiered system, the guidelines depend on where you live. However, shielding has been reintroduced for the clinically extremely vulnerable and over 70s living in Tier 4 areas, meaning you are advised to stay at home at all times other than for exercise or medical appointments.
The government’s full current guidelines are here, and you can sign up for extra support here, where you can ask for priority online delivery from supermarkets.
Other ways to shop
If you’re struggling to secure an online delivery slot and are self-isolating or unable to get to the shops, it’s worth exploring whether there are alternatives.
Volunteer shopping cards
If a friend or neighbour is shopping for you, you can buy a volunteer shopping card for them to pay with.
- Find out more: how to pay volunteers to do your shopping
Local shops and volunteer groups
Many local independent shops, farm shops, community shops and wholesalers are now offering home delivery. If you’re unsure where to start, try asking on local online forums or social media groups, or check websites such as localfooddrops.co.uk and wedeliverlocal.co.uk.
You could also seek more direct help from your local community: in many areas, residents have set up Facebook or WhatsApp groups to help people who are vulnerable or running low on essentials – try searching for your local Mutual Aid group if you need help or want to get involved.
The neighbourhood hub Nextdoor is being used in a similar way, too, with users reaching out to offer help with shopping or even supporting those in self-isolation.
Alternatively, you could see if neighbours want to club together on a single online order, which could be handy if any of you are new to online shopping.
Online delivery situation by supermarket (alphabetical list)
The online grocery market has grown throughout the pandemic, with supermarkets increasing their online delivery capacity to match increased demand. Here’s a breakdown of what’s happened with different retailers.
Amazon is now selling Morrisons groceries to customers in several cities around the UK.
Its Amazon Fresh service is also now available to all Prime members who live in eligible areas (London and southern England only).
Aldi doesn’t have a full online grocery shopping service, but in November it announced plans to extend its click and collect service to more than 200 stores before Christmas.
You may be able to order same-day deliveries of certain items via Deliveroo – 129 Aldi stores are set to be on the service by the end of 2020, with more than 40 already online.
Aldi also launched a £9.99 essentials box for vulnerable and elderly people during lockdown, but these are currently out of stock on its website.
- Find out more: do groceries cost more when ordered through Deliveroo?
Asda told us in November it had more availability than at the start of the March lockdown, and it will still give customers a three-week view of available slots.
Booths, which operates in the north of England, is delivering emergency food packages to vulnerable customers living within three miles of its stores.
It has also launched a click-and-collect service for those wishing to avoid shopping in store. You can make your order online, but payment will be taken over the phone.
Co-op is offering same-day online deliveries in some areas. You can order a maximum of 25 items from a curated selection of products.
You may also be able to order via Deliveroo – more than 400 Co-op stores are on the service.
Iceland says it’s grown its capacity by 300% since the start of the pandemic.
M&S replaced Waitrose as Ocado’s grocery partner on 1 September, meaning you can now order M&S goods online from Ocado.
Morrisons goods can be ordered from its own website, and from Deliveroo or Amazon in some areas.
The supermarket also has a new telesales service for vulnerable customers, explained here.
Ocado is once again open to new customers, so you can now place an order if you’ve never shopped with it before.
Sainsbury’shas rolled out its ‘Chop Chop’ e-bike delivery service to 50 stores across 20 UK cities.
Tesco says it has more than doubled its online grocery capacity since the start of the outbreak.
Waitrose says it has more than trebled its online capacity this year, and significantly increased click-and-collect slots.
Now that it has stopped selling via Ocado, it’s trialling a partnership with Deliveroo, with 30 stores on the service at the moment.
- Find out more: supermarkets on Deliveroo – are you paying more?
Which stores sell essential food boxes?
A number of supermarkets have started selling boxes packed with pre-selected ‘essential’ items such as bread, milk and pasta to help those who are self-isolating.
Links take you to the relevant page on the supermarkets’ websites.
- Aldi: £9.99, including delivery, for 21 items – currently sold out online
- Asda: £17-£39 for a range of boxes containing 16-44 items
- Morrisons: £22-£55 for a range of boxes from fruit and veg to a luxury meat selection
Which? advice on coronavirus
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This story was originally published on 9 March and is being regularly updated with the latest developments. The latest update was on 22 December 2020 to add information about Christmas opening hours. Additional reporting by Hannah Walsh.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/2020/12/supermarkets-coronavirus-latest/