Britain’s biggest online-only supermarket, Ocado, has stopped new customers from signing up as the business is overwhelmed by orders from people staying indoors to avoid the coronavirus pandemic.
The retailer said it will be out of action until March 21 due to ‘a simply staggering amount of traffic’ as more and more Britons self-isolate, with the number of confirmed UK Covid-19 cases rising to 2,626 and the death toll reaching 104.
All supermarkets now face a major upswing in demand. Most are still taking online orders but customers have complained that delivery slots are not available for up to three weeks.
Ocado has had temporarily shut down its website to give itself breathing space amid ‘unprecedented strain’ as orders streamed in from new and old customers – who will now not be able to edit existing orders or book a new delivery until Saturday.
Morrisons announced it is creating 3,500 jobs to meet surging demand for its home delivery service caused by the pandemic – including 2,500 pickers and drivers along with roughly 1,000 people to work in distribution centres.
London now faces plunging deeper into lockdown within days amid fears the ‘superspreader city’ is driving the UK’s coronavirus outbreak, with residents in the capital set for tighter restrictions on their movements and the Army prepares to help out in the crisis.
Environment Secretary George Eustice has stressed that there is ‘significant resilience in our food supply chain’ and that there is not a shortage of food – but the challenge we face is ‘getting food to shelves in time when people have been purchasing more.
Ocado´s delivery service has been overwhelmed by the number of new orders (file image)
Empty Shelves are seen here at at Tesco Superstore in Kent. All supermarkets have faced a major upswing in demand for some items, with shelves emptied of toilet paper, many canned goods and cereals
Morrisons has announced it is creating 3,500 jobs to meet surging demand for its home delivery service caused by the pandemic – including 2,500 pickers and drivers along with roughly 1,000 people to work in distribution centres (pictured: Advertisements for the jobs)
He said that the Government has set aside delivery curfews so lorries can run around the clock and relaxed driver hours to make sure deliveries can take place more frequently.
Schools in England will shut on Friday but the Government said they will remain open to the children of ‘key workers’ – a category that will likely include NHS staff, teachers and delivery drivers.
Tesco is facing a high demand for online deliveries, and is encouraging customers to choose Click and Collect for grocery shopping to help the supermarket prioritise elderly and vulnerable people.
The retailer will package food in plastic bags for those self-isolating, with drivers leaving groceries for them.
John Lewis Partnership said 2,100 members of staff from the department store business are helping to work at Waitrose stores on deliveries.
The company also launched a £1 million community support fund to be distributed by Waitrose shops to local communities.
Ocado drivers have been instructed not to interact directly with customers when they deliver orders, instead leaving shopping bags on doorsteps and calling customers on the phone. The company has not yet revealed how they will cope with the huge increase in demand.
‘The impact of higher basket values and order demand, amid growing public concern over the coronavirus, was limited in the (first) quarter, although this has since picked up significantly and growth in the second quarter is so far double that of the first quarter,’ said Ocado Retail chief executive Melanie Smith.
Most supermarkets are still taking online orders customers have complained that delivery slots are not available for up to three weeks
However, despite this major increase, Ocado sounded a cautious note, keeping its financial guidance steady for the year, as an increase now could give way to a fall later, as customers burn through their stockpiles.
‘We expect the impact of forward-buying, however, to unwind at some point,’ Ms Smith said.
She added: ‘I am tremendously proud of my colleagues and the outcomes we have achieved in the first quarter. I am confident that our resilience, teamwork and commitment will stand us in good stead to continue to deliver for our customers even with the current uncertainties.’
Shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard said ‘there are millions already in food poverty and this is now an immediate family emergency for many of those’.
He added: ‘With food banks running low on food, many volunteers of food banks over the age of 70 and soon needing to self-isolate, what steps is he taking to assist those in genuine hunger today?’
Mr Eustice replied: ‘I’ve been in regular, daily calls with the food supply sector that included discussions around food banks and we are in dialogue with supermarkets to ensure we can make sure they get access to the supplies that they need.’
Ocado Retail’s revenue jumped by 10.3% to £441.2 million in the first quarter of the year, which Ms Smith said was largely not affected by the spread of Covid-19.
Ocado has closed down access to its website until Saturday as it struggles to deal with demand due to stockpiling during the coronavirus outbreak. Shoppers will not be able to edit an existing order or book a new delivery for the next few days
‘However coronavirus unfolds, what is clear is that the fundamentals at Ocado Retail are strong,’ she said.
The supermarket also said it is ‘on track’ to switch over its partnership with Waitrose to instead deliver Marks & Spencer goods.
As part of the deal for Ocado to deliver for M&S, the high street giant took a 50% stake in its online peer for £750 million last year.
The average number of orders placed on Ocado jumped 10.2% to 343,000, while the average order value was up by just 28p to £110.24.
Ocado has closed down access to its website until Saturday as it struggles to deal with demand due to stockpiling, and shoppers will not be able to edit an existing order or book a new delivery for the next few days.
The announcement comes as some supermarket chains have started to impose strict rationing measures on items such as toilet roll, soap and UHT milk to curb Covid-19 panic-buying.
The online supermarket said it will be out of action until March 21 due to ‘a simply staggering amount of traffic’. The announcement comes as some supermarket chains have started to impose strict rationing measures on items such as toilet roll, soap and UHT milk to curb Covid-19 panic-buying. (File photo)
Ocado said the closure will enable it to carry out essential work that will help to ensure distribution of products and delivery slots is as fair and accessible as possible for all customers going forward.
A message on the company’s home page, from Melanie Smith reads: ‘Like all supermarkets, we are working round the clock to keep up with high demand and make sure all of our customers get what they need at this time – especially those more vulnerable and in isolation.’
Customers stocking up across the country is intensifying as supermarkets under mounting pressure are taking drastic rationing action in a bid to deal with the unprecedented demand for goods.
Tesco, the UK’s biggest supermarket, will impose restrictions on all customers to buying a maximum of three products per line from Thursday, as it copes with the high demand from the coronavirus pandemic, the company announced.
Britain’s grocery industry has struggled for over a week to keep shelves stocked in the face of stockpiling, which worsened on Tuesday despite weekend appeals for calm from supermarket bosses and politicians.
But experts have asked why supermarkets have introduced different limits on certain goods, creating confusion for customers and competition among rivals.
It comes as Ocado shoppers have been sharing stories about how their entire grocery orders have been cancelled without notice.
Some affected customers said they only discovered their groceries weren’t coming after logging on to Ocado’s overstretched website – where getting access to an account has taken over 30 minutes.
Yesterday a message from the company’s CEO Melanie Smith went out to customers, apologising for the delivery issues and revealing that the Ocado app would be temporarily taken offline due to ‘performance issues’.
Frustration: Many Ocado shoppers reported not receiving their orders, with no warning
On Mumsnet earlier this week, one shopper revealed she’d had no warning about her order not arriving and said she felt she now was more likely to panic buy because she had no food
The Ocado app has been shut down due to technical issues, the company told shoppers today
Smith also pleaded with shoppers not to panic buy, saying: ‘Only buy what you need, there’s enough for everyone. That will help us to make sure everybody gets what they need.’
On social media site Mumsnet, one shopper affected by the Ocado cancellations said that they now felt they would be more likely to panic buy after not receiving food they’d spent time ordering.
Vagessence wrote: ‘My whole ocado shop for today has been cancelled. Thankfully we’ll be able to drive to the shops but what about those who can’t? People in self isolation or those who have to rely on online shops for other reasons? Slots aren’t available until next week, midweek at the earliest!’
They added: ‘I’ve been telling myself to stay calm, only buy what we need, don’t add to the problem of shops being out of stock. But now I’m panicking it’s really hard to stick to that. I’m now not sure if I’ll be able to hold back from panic buying now.’
Elsewhere, on Twitter, others reported similar problems.
@Hegark wrote: ‘I have been charged for an order that wasn’t delivered on Monday 16th. Have emailed and Sent DM. Please refund me #Ocado.’
@clairebaty added: ‘You have cancelled my reserved order for this Sunday for apparently a payment issue but my payment info was up to date already. Please can you reinstate this immediately?’
@theblindblonde added: ‘I have dm’d you about a delivery which has not arrived! Please help’
@ClaireJ29033154 wrote: ‘I was expecting my @Ocado delivery Monday and it never arrived and not heard anything and can’t get in touch with them either! The payment is pending out my account too and have 6 in my family to feed.’
Empty pasta shelves in Tesco in Ely, Cambridgeshire, at 8am – just two hours after the store opened today
Others praised the service for continuing through difficult times. @LizzyNinn wrote: ‘Thanks. My order arrived on time as usual, nothing missing, pleasant chat with the driver. All totally normal. I know it’s taking a lot of extra work to achieve this, so thank you.’
All the major supermarket chains have been affected by the deepening coronavirus crisis. Sainsbury’s has announced it is closing its in-store meat, fish and pizza counters and cafes from tomorrow to free up lorry and warehouse capacity, as well as shelf-stacking time, for essential items to be replenished.
The supermarket will restrict people to only buying three of any single grocery item, in addition to a two-item limit on the most popular goods such as toilet paper and long-life milk which is already in place. From March 23, disabled customers and those over 70 will take priority for online delivery slots.
Morrisons plans to create 3,500 new jobs and expand its home delivery operation to help it deal with coronavirus.
Aldi became the first UK grocer to introduce rationing, limiting customers to buying four items of any one product during each visit.
Tesco followed suit by limiting shoppers to five items, and Asda has introduced a limit of three items while Iceland will only open to elderly, vulnerable and disabled shoppers on Wednesday mornings.
Despite the stringent new measures, shelves at a Tesco supermarket in Ely, Cambridgeshire, were stripped bare just two hours after the store opened this morning.
And customers at an Asda Walmart in Waterlooville, Hampshire, were queuing outside the door at 6am this morning and within just one hour, shoppers claim shelves were empty as worried households continue to stockpile against government advice.