Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Ocado send urgent message to shoppers over home delivery after more panic buying

Shoppers in Sheffield have complained of fully booked delivery slots and empty shelves amid another wave of panic buying.
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Since a third lockdown was announced on Monday (4 January), supermarkets have come under strain to meet demand as customers flock to stock up on essential items.

One woman from Sheffield complained her original grocery order, which was placed on behalf of her 83-year-old dad, was ‘more than halved’ because high demand meant Tesco didn’t have enough stock to fulfil it.

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Here’s what the biggest supermarkets have said about home delivery in the wake of more panic buying.

Empty shelves at a South Yorkshire supermarket on Tuesday.Empty shelves at a South Yorkshire supermarket on Tuesday.
Empty shelves at a South Yorkshire supermarket on Tuesday.

Tesco

Tesco has encouraged people to shop in-store during quieter periods because of high demand on their online service. That is despite the company more than doubling the number of delivery slots to 1.5 million each week.

The UK’s biggest supermarket has extended the opening hours in many of its shops, although the majority remain closed overnight. “Hundreds of thousands” of home delivery slots are reserved each week for its most vulnerable customers.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s said it is working hard to expand its delivery service Customers who are vulnerable will get priority access and are able to book slots in advance of anyone else.

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New slots are released regularly, they say, so people are asked to check back if they can’t see any available.

Asda

Asda said they are also experiencing “really high” demand for delivery and ask customers to check back regularly as they continue to work on increasing capacity.

Purchase limits could also be placed on products in high demand.

Morrisons

Morrisons has also warned of delays and has asked customers to continue to check their website for further availability.

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Next day delivery is available on orders placed before 3pm via the supemarket’s Food Boxes website.

Ocado

Ocado said delivery slots are selling out faster than usual due to increased demand – and asked customers to keep checking back for new delivery slots.

A post on their website read: “Slots for 2–3 days time are being snapped up quickly, but you might be able to find a slot if you book a bit further in advance.”