Tesco has asked customers to purchase their food from inside its stores as the online system struggles to cope with demand and deliveries are being prioritised for the "most vulnerable" member of society. Supermarket chains across the country saw a surge in the sale of certain products as people were engaged in bulk purchases of goods triggered by fear of the consequences of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
"Between 85% and 90% of all food bought will require a visit to a store and here significant changes to the store environment have been implemented to maximise safety for colleagues and customers", Tesco said in a statement.
The supermarket now says that, as of 8 April, the restrictions of three items per customer have been lifted across most of the products "as stock levels stabilise". In order to assist with ensuring 'food for all' the store has also temporarily closed "all cafes, phone shops, meat, fish, deli counters and salad bars". They have also taken the extraordinary step of asking their office workers to "volunteer for shifts in stores where they can".
The business says that it will be prioritising food deliveries for the most vulnerable customers, based on a list of 110,000 names provided by the government on 3 April.
While there have been large, temporary, increases in the purchases of specific items there are also "significant additional" costs associated with the COVID-19 outbreak, the business says. This includes the hiring of 45,000 more workers in the last two weeks, some of whom will be covering shifts of those who can't work but are still being paid.
Social distancing regulations from the government mean that stores will only permit a limited number of customers inside their businesses at any given moment. It is not unusual to see queues around the corner from supermarkets, with the average waiting time lasting up to 20 or 30 minutes in some areas. The result being that there is a knock-on-effect onto in-store sales with fewer people shopping in person.
The business warns that having to hire extra staff and other store expenses associated with dealing with the virus add £1 billion more in costs than would otherwise be expected.
"Initial panic buying has subsided and service levels are returning to normal. There are significant extra costs in feeding the nation at the moment but these are partially offset by the UK Business rates relief", Tesco's CEO Dave Lewis said.
The UK government is currently paying 80% of wages of employed workers who are furloughed, up to £2,500 a month, as part of the COVID-19 emergency measures which have been rolled out. It is also offering some tax relief and grants and loans for businesses depending on the size of the company.