Australian supermarkets ramp up social distancing measures this weekend

Australia’s major supermarkets are ramping up social distancing measures over the long holiday weekend. 

Easter long weekend is typically one of the busiest times of year for supermarket retailers, with shoppers rushing to snap up holiday favourites.

Coles and Woolworths have placed a limit on the number of customers in-store to help combat the spread of coronavirus. 

Coles and Woolworths have placed a limit on the number of customers in-store to help combat the spread of coronavirus

Coles will allow a max of 110 shoppers at its smallest store, and 275 at its largest.

While Aldi will restrict customer number to 70-100 people per store, depending on size.

Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said the number of customers allowed into each store at any one time will be dependent on its size. 

‘We have to keep Australians fed, and we understand our role in society… it is a safe environment a supermarket. It’s never been cleaner, you can still shop, but it’s all about minimising contact and risk,’ Coles Chief Operating Officer, Matt Swindells told A Current Affair.  

Claire Peters, managing director of Woolworths, Easter was an incredibly busy time.

‘In this current crisis, we have doubled our amount of hours in cleaning and particularly in the amount of those customer touch points,’ she said. 

Coles will allow a max of 110 shoppers at its smallest store, and 275 at its largest

Easter, the second biggest time of the year after Christmas, looms as a big test, starting today, especially with strict limits on customers in stores at one time being introduced on Monday.

Long queues formed outside some stores but Coles Chief operations officer Matthew Swindells said only about five per cent of locations had any lines and they moved quickly.

He said Coles modelling showed 90 per cent of stores won’t have queues over Easter and ‘it would be rare to see one except at the really big traders’.

Mr Swindells said there were signs demand had peaked and once the grocery chain survived Easter it would have a chance to catch up its supply.

Long queues formed outside some stores but Coles Chief operations officer Matthew Swindells said only about five per cent of locations had any lines and they moved quickly. Pictured: Coles in Firle in Adelaide on April 6

Supermarkets in Australia have become a battle ground amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Staff have been assault by people desperate to get their hands on sought after items such as toilet paper, pasta and rice.

One alleged incident in Brunswick, in Melbourne’s inner-city, involved a Coles worker allegedly being hit with a stick by a disgruntled shopper.

Brawls have also broken out in Woolworths. 

Supermarkets – such as Coles – now has two dedicated shopping hours per week for emergency service and healthcare workers as of March 26.

Supermarkets in Australia have become a battle ground amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: A Woolworths cashier in protective clothing

They are the first hour of trade on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while Monday, Wednesday and Friday remain for seniors to help reduce risks to them. 

Shelves have been stripped bare prompting major supermarkets such as Coles, Woolworths and Aldi to enforce strict rules on how much pasta, toilet paper and flour can be purchased.

Most every day items shoppers are allowed to purchase two of – however toilet paper remains the most restricted with only one item per customer. 

Woolworths also said there were starting to see a shortage in pasta sauce jars. 

Mr Swindell said all the products customers have found hard to find were selling at a rate of a week’s worth of stock per day.

Supermarkets were extremely busy in the lead up to the Easter long weekend. Pictured: A Coles in Eastgardens

These included toilet paper, pasta, hand sanitiser, rice, tissues, paper towel, some cleaning and hygiene products, and even canned vegetables.

‘It’s not small movement away from the usual demand, it’s very much extreme and continual,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Swindells said customer behaviour shifted quickly and unpredictably and trends were already changing this week, with cake mix and baking goods seeing a surge.

‘You can see customers are now doing more home cooking as they are working from home or have lost their jobs, but then they get sick of it,’ he said.

‘There’s a burst of fresh produce where people are cooking from scratch and eating healthy, and then it will shift into confectionery and sugary drinks, and back again.’

Timeline of panic buying in Australia

MARCH 1: Panic buying of toilet paper starts, with supermarket shelves around the country cleared out of loo roll as coronavirus fears ramp up

MARCH 4: Coles introduces a four-pack limit on toilet paper.

MARCH 6: Three women are filmed in a fist fight over toilet paper at a Woolworths in Chullora, in Sydney’s west.

MARCH 7: Video goes viral of an elderly woman slapping another shopper across the face as they scrap over the last packet of toilet paper in a Melbourne Coles.

MARCH 13: Woolworths introduces a one-packet limit on paper towels and napkins.

MARCH 17: Woolworths and Coles introduce a dedicated shopping hour for the elderly and disabled to stock up without being overwhelmed by the panic buying chaos within some stores.

MARCH 18: Woolworths says customers will only be able to purchase two items from any single category from most packaged products, with the exception of some fresh foods.

MARCH 18: Scott Morrison demands Australians stop hoarding food and other essential supplies in impassioned press conference.

MARCH 24: Coles announces it is allowing emergency service workers – including nurses and police officers – to shop during its dedicated ‘community hour’.

APRIL 1: Panic-buying shoppers forces Woolworths and Coles to scale back their weekly specials  

 

 

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