Supermarkets and Covid-19

[Mag_seven]

Went to my local big Tesco this afternoon - for a Saturday afternoon it was really quiet but I'm glad to see that they seem to have completely abandoned one way systems and aisles blocked off at one end for no apparent reason.

 

[david1212]

One thing I've noticed the few times I've been in sainsburys is the supply chain issues. They have by far more empty shelves than other supermarkets

They always have done. I think it's a shelf replenishment problem rather than a supply chain one, since it seems highly dependent on time of day

Back over 20 years ago my two nearest supermarkets with parking were Sainsburys. The only Tesco was a high street store.
Tesco then opened a superstore which was far from ideal in terms of access and additional traffic on a very busy road. Initially I kept to Sainsburys. However I got increasingly fed up with products being out of stock plus short dates on fresh and chilled lines. Hence I swapped to Tesco.

In all fairness I think part of the problem is that they are often trying to sell up to 5 times as many lines as other supermarkets in the same amount of shelf space, and it's not easy to keep that stocked, even down to the level of making an accurate pick list and finding the right boxes in the storeroom

The high street Tesco still exists as a Metro store. Compared to the superstore it carries significantly fewer lines.

The Sainsburys in a nearby town is a similar size and I use it occasionally. I hadn't thought about it until reading the above post but I agree. For many lines the Tesco Metro staff can just remove the outer wrapping then put the complete packing tray or box on the shelf. The Sainsburys staff however have to remove the items and place maybe just some of them on the allocated narrow shelf slot.

 

[adc82140]

Asda order came yesterday. No more than the usual substitutions.

 

[AdamWW]

Asda order came yesterday. No more than the usual substitutions.

Local ASDA still extremely short of pasta. Quite short of crisps. Didn't look at loo roll but they seem to have run out of televisions.

I suspect this is not the sign of any general panic buying.

Let's hope the media don't pick up on what it actually some kind of supply hiccup and trigger the next round of panic buying.

 

[Jamiescott1]

Just been to my local tesco and a poor employee is scraping off all the hazard tape that was stuck on yhe floor back in March to signify 2 metre gaps

 

[AdamWW]

Just been to my local tesco and a poor employee is scraping off all the hazard tape that was stuck on yhe floor back in March to signify 2 metre gaps

I wonder why.

Aren't we still supposed to be staying 2 m apart?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wonder why.

Aren't we still supposed to be staying 2 m apart?

The 2m "blocks" in supermarket aisles were a silly way of doing it, TBH. They mostly resulted in people *not* being 2m apart because people just took it as "one person per box" which unless both stand exactly in the middle of the box (or on the line) doesn't work.

 

[trebor79]

Just been to my local tesco and a poor employee is scraping off all the hazard tape that was stuck on yhe floor back in March to signify 2 metre gaps

I noticed half of them had disappeared in my local Tesco last week.
I have to say I think Tesco has been the most sensible of the large chains throughout this. I was very pleased when they took the lead in getting rid of one way aisles.
Our Sainsbury's still has someone camped at the door. Although at least they've given up trying to persuade you to use some scanning ap on your phone to do your shopping.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think Tesco started off as one of the worst, with long queues and a thug on the door. But perhaps because of the unpopularity of this, they have also rowed back quickest.

 

[adc82140]

They just need to get rid of the meaningless trolley handle wiping now.

 

[MikeWM]

I noticed half of them had disappeared in my local Tesco last week.
I have to say I think Tesco has been the most sensible of the large chains throughout this. I was very pleased when they took the lead in getting rid of one way aisles.
Our Sainsbury's still has someone camped at the door. Although at least they've given up trying to persuade you to use some scanning ap on your phone to do your shopping.

Tesco have lost a bit of the goodwill they'd built up with me with their recent changes to the cost of home delivery. I can get a slot late at night with Sainsburys for £0, so paying the new flat £4.50 rate for Tesco doesn't seem entirely reasonable.

Though I would agree that the physical Tesco and Sainsburys here have both been mostly very good throughout. Tesco have - finally - put a gap in the barrier between their 'in' and 'out' doors so that you can get to the pharmacy etc. without going through the whole shop first or clambering over barriers. I never saw anyone trying to enforce their one-way system. Sainsburys never put one in in the first place. I tend to go to both quite late in the evening so haven't encountered door staff or queues in months.

Waitrose I gave up on back in April due to letting only about three people in the entire supermarket at a time. I haven't been back since.

Morrisons (not local) is the only supermarket to date I've been pestered by a security guard about not wearing a mask (though he had no issues once I showed my home-made exemption card...)

 

[AdamWW]

Tesco have lost a bit of the goodwill they'd built up with me with their recent changes to the cost of home delivery. I can get a slot late at night with Sainsburys for £0, so paying the new flat £4.50 rate for Tesco doesn't seem entirely reasonable.

I believe one of the original advantages of supermarkets over traditional shops where you were served across a counter is that the shoppers do all the work of collecting what they want.

I don't think it's unreasonable for supermarkets to charge for sending someone round the shop to pick an order (though I think in some cases it's now automated to some extent), nor to drive it to your house rather than you going to the supermarket.

But people have got used to not paying much for this. It may not be particularly sustainable.

 

[DB]

The local Tesco here has been pretty normal for a while - the main porch area is divided into in and out, but that's no issue as both end up in the same place anyway! Still '2m distancing' signs on the floor, but the arrows were removed weeks ago. No queueing for some time, either.

Marks & Spencer is still a bit more annoying - someone on the door, plus sometimes queues. I used to go there for bread quite often, but rarely bother now.

 

[jfollows]

I went to a supermarket on Monday this week, September 14th. Unusual for me, because the last time I went to a supermarket or indeed to any kind of shop was on March 13th. Not because I was concerned about infection, I just wanted to avoid all the hassle and rearranged my life to enable me not to have to go shopping. I'm glad to say that it all seemed fairly normal on Monday this week, of course the other customers were also wearing face masks and there was perspex between me and the person at the till, but otherwise I didn't notice anything significant. Good. Seemed sensible and low hassle.

For what it's worth, this week was a Sainsbury's Local in Prestwich.

 

[Bantamzen]

I think Tesco started off as one of the worst, with long queues and a thug on the door. But perhaps because of the unpopularity of this, they have also rowed back quickest.

My nearest Tesco Express started to row back at the end of March.

 

[MikeWM]

I believe one of the original advantages of supermarkets over traditional shops where you were served across a counter is that the shoppers do all the work of collecting what they want.

I don't think it's unreasonable for supermarkets to charge for sending someone round the shop to pick an order (though I think in some cases it's now automated to some extent), nor to drive it to your house rather than you going to the supermarket.

But people have got used to not paying much for this. It may not be particularly sustainable.

I agree £0 is probably not sustainable, though I may as well take advantage of it while they still do it

I don't see why Tesco have moved away from their previous yield-managed slot system though - unpopular times were cheaper (usually £2), popular times more expensive. Seemed reasonable.

 

[Andyh82]

I think Tesco started off as one of the worst, with long queues and a thug on the door. But perhaps because of the unpopularity of this, they have also rowed back quickest.

That might say something about your local branch, as there was never a "thug" on the door of mine, just a normal member of staff

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Tesco have lost a bit of the goodwill they'd built up with me with their recent changes to the cost of home delivery. I can get a slot late at night with Sainsburys for £0, so paying the new flat £4.50 rate for Tesco doesn't seem entirely reasonable.

Though I would agree that the physical Tesco and Sainsburys here have both been mostly very good throughout. Tesco have - finally - put a gap in the barrier between their 'in' and 'out' doors so that you can get to the pharmacy etc. without going through the whole shop first or clambering over barriers. I never saw anyone trying to enforce their one-way system. Sainsburys never put one in in the first place. I tend to go to both quite late in the evening so haven't encountered door staff or queues in months.

Waitrose I gave up on back in April due to letting only about three people in the entire supermarket at a time. I haven't been back since.

Morrisons (not local) is the only supermarket to date I've been pestered by a security guard about not wearing a mask (though he had no issues once I showed my home-made exemption card...)

You can get the Tesco home delivery cost down to £3 per shop if you book a 'flexi-saver' slot. You select a four hour period instead of one - they text you the actual hour slot on the day. Alternatively you can get 6 months delivery saver for £16 of Clubcard Vouchers - tripled up to the normal £48 cash price. Advert over

Just had my weekly delivery earlier this afternoon. No sandwich baps available, but two pints of milk for the price of one.

 

[Hadders]

I agree £0 is probably not sustainable, though I may as well take advantage of it while they still do it

I don't see why Tesco have moved away from their previous yield-managed slot system though - unpopular times were cheaper (usually £2), popular times more expensive. Seemed reasonable.

Even a delivery fee of £4.50 doesn’t cover the additional cost of:

The Labour picking and loading the order
The cost of the vehicle delivery fleet
Drivers Labour cost
Technology infrastructure costs etc.

 

[takno]

Even a delivery fee of £4.50 doesn’t cover the additional cost of:

The Labour picking and loading the order
The cost of the vehicle delivery fleet
Drivers Labour cost
Technology infrastructure costs etc.

I reckon 4.50 probably covers about 2/3rds of the excess costs - the order picking and loading is probably under 10 minutes per order now, and the driver is generally getting it all done in 10-15 minutes in areas that aren't too spaced out.

I'd say it's well worth it for Sainsburys to take a 5-10% hit on my 50 quid shop, given that I shop more often, am much more faithful to a single shop, and I'm spending money on impulse items that I wouldn't have been bothered to look at in the supermarket. I did look at getting a shop from Tesco, but the 4.50 charge, or having to faff around with a long delivery window (which it's difficult to get alcohol in in Scotland) and the generally smaller range of products put me off.

 

[Hadders]

What about the van leasing costs and fuel.

Supermarkets haven’t really been able to rationalise the store estate as a result of online. Most stock is still picked in-store which does help some lower turnover stores with stock turnover (e.g. less waste). There are some ‘dark’ stores out there but this only makes sense if you are at capacity for store pick. There are some picking efficiencies with a centralised pick but if this reduces stock throughout in a traditional store then what you gain with a centralised pick you potentially lose in the traditional stores...

 

[takno]

What about the van leasing costs and fuel.

Supermarkets haven’t really been able to rationalise the store estate as a result of online. Most stock is still picked in-store which does help some lower turnover stores with stock turnover (e.g. less waste). There are some ‘dark’ stores out there but this only makes sense if you are at capacity for store pick. There are some picking efficiencies with a centralised pick but if this reduces stock throughout in a traditional store then what you gain with a centralised pick you potentially lose in the traditional stores...

You don't necessarily need a full dark store. Having people going round the place at 5 in the morning and generally doing 5 shops in one go with the route planned by a computer is going to be more effective use of space than having me riding my mostly empty trolley up and down the aisles shouting weeeee (although I do miss that quite a lot). You also have the order confirmed the day before, which can feed into the stock control system and trigger earlier ordering, so you don't need as much stockroom space. If the picking and loading side of things was costing a problematic amount of money they would have charges in place

Leasing costs plus fuel for the average delivery I reckon at well under 80p per delivery, and there's a significant cost saving in not having to lease and maintain a car park and keep dragging trolleys back from it.

Nobody is making a profit from the delivery at 4.50, and even less so at the quid I usually pay, but the loss isn't that big, and may well be sustainable over the longer term.

 

[DelayRepay]

Amazon Prime Now has recently launched near me, picking goods from a Morrisons store. I have used it a few times and been impressed - generally slots available for same day delivery, with no charge for delivery of orders over £40 for Prime members.

You don't have the same choice as shopping in the store, and you don't get all the special offers or loyalty points, but you could easily do a week's shop.

They don't have the overheads of dedicated vans etc, goods are delivered in cars.

I do think if anyone can make this pay, it's Amazon. (and no, I don't expect the free delivery to last for ever!)

 

[Hadders]

You don't necessarily need a full dark store. Having people going round the place at 5 in the morning and generally doing 5 shops in one go with the route planned by a computer is going to be more effective use of space than having me riding my mostly empty trolley up and down the aisles shouting weeeee (although I do miss that quite a lot). You also have the order confirmed the day before, which can feed into the stock control system and trigger earlier ordering, so you don't need as much stockroom space. If the picking and loading side of things was costing a problematic amount of money they would have charges in place

Generally online orders are picked in store in the small hours before the store opens but as the online business grows inevitably this pick goes into the normal trading day, aided and abetted by things like same day delivery which is starting to happen.

You also can’t do everything at night as you need to get the shelves filled, this also happens overnight in most large stores.

Having orders confirmed at 10 or 11pm the day before delivery doesn’t help stock control as most goods are on a 48 hour lead time from depot. Trust me, as online volume increases it takes up more space in the warehouse area, as the stock picked has to be marshalled as it awaits loading so a evening delivery to a customer might get picked before the store opens but it has to sit in the back area of the store until the van is loaded which won’t be until later in the day.

The cost of developing and maintaining the online systems and interfacing them with existing systems doesn’t come cheap either.

Leasing costs plus fuel for the average delivery I reckon at well under 80p per delivery, and there's a significant cost saving in not having to lease and maintain a car park and keep dragging trolleys back from it.

Cost of diesel alone will be around 15p per mile so you’re not going to get very far for 80p a delivery, especially once you start adding in the rural areas.

I don’t know of any supermarkets where the car park has been sold off on account of increasing online operations so as things currently stand there’s double bubble of maintaining the car park and running the online operation. I’m not saying car parks wouldn’t get looked at but it’s not exactly straightforward to get rid of a car park at an existing store.

Nobody is making a profit from the delivery at 4.50, and even less so at the quid I usually pay, but the loss isn't that big, and may well be sustainable over the longer term.

Let’s just say I can’t see where much profit is being made. Potentially online customers spend more per transaction and are more loyal which will help

 

[Bletchleyite]

One big advantage of "dark stores" is that you can control stock properly (because someone can't just walk up with their trolley and buy something and knacker someone who had it ordered but not picked yet) so substitutions only then come up if your box of eggs gets dropped by the picker or something.

 

[Tom B]

Online shopping loses money from the delivery aspect - supposedly it costs around £7/8 quid extra (in terms of staffing, infrastructure etc) compared to if the customer came to buy their goods instore. But, the loyalty via convenience and regular orders is important for the shops and they have to do it because all the others do! The pickers have handheld devices which essentially do all the thinking for them and they do what it says. Often touted as the worst job of any in a shop, and that's before the 4am start is considered,

The car park issue - well a slightly less busy car park is happier customers since they can find a space easier. Some carpark spaces in larger supermarkets have been given over to e.g. car washes, Timpson concessions, click and collect points etc.

One big advantage of "dark stores" is that you can control stock properly (because someone can't just walk up with their trolley and buy something and knacker someone who had it ordered but not picked yet) so substitutions only then come up if your box of eggs gets dropped by the picker or something.

With the reduction in 24-hour opening, and picking happening in the early morning, I'd be very surprised if there were many substitutions for that reason at the moment.

 

[trebor79]

An interesting discussion. In contrast to some other experiences here, I've found lockdown has made me change my habits in the other direction. Having done the supermarket shopping exclusively online for 5 years, we couldn't get any delivery slots.
So I did it physically and found it a much better experience. Wandering round the shop I pass items that I would never have found on the website, oh I'll try those. I can get bread from the back of the shelf which is several days fresher. The strawberries don't look or smell fab this week, I'll get some different fruit. I can get the size of baking potatoes I actually want. They have 4 different banana options, and I can choose those in best condition on the day. Etc.
I find it easier and less stressful than doing it online. If they haven't got some essential ingredient for a planned meal I can decide to cook something else instead, and not end up with a load of stuff I'm not going to use for lack of that one thing.
I also think it works better for Tesco. Not only do they not have to pay someone to pick, pack and deliver, but I'm spending more. Online we'd spend about 90 quid a week. Now I spend between 120 and 160. Admittedly this is to the detriment of our local Sainsbury's where I do any top ups that are required.
Mrs Trebor occasionally moans that I won't do it online citing petrol and time costs. But it gets me out of the house, and frankly if I can avoid staring at a screen getting frustrated with technology having done it all day for work, then that's a good thing.

Plus, the shop is usually fairly quiet with so many doing it online. I like it.

 

[bramling]

Tesco have lost a bit of the goodwill they'd built up with me with their recent changes to the cost of home delivery. I can get a slot late at night with Sainsburys for £0, so paying the new flat £4.50 rate for Tesco doesn't seem entirely reasonable.

Though I would agree that the physical Tesco and Sainsburys here have both been mostly very good throughout. Tesco have - finally - put a gap in the barrier between their 'in' and 'out' doors so that you can get to the pharmacy etc. without going through the whole shop first or clambering over barriers. I never saw anyone trying to enforce their one-way system. Sainsburys never put one in in the first place. I tend to go to both quite late in the evening so haven't encountered door staff or queues in months.

Waitrose I gave up on back in April due to letting only about three people in the entire supermarket at a time. I haven't been back since.

Morrisons (not local) is the only supermarket to date I've been pestered by a security guard about not wearing a mask (though he had no issues once I showed my home-made exemption card...)

My local Waitrose is still doing queuing and someone on a door, though in the case of my town at least it’s more of a snooty so and so than a thug. They seem to be still be arsey about people entering in pairs.

 

[takno]

An interesting discussion. In contrast to some other experiences here, I've found lockdown has made me change my habits in the other direction. Having done the supermarket shopping exclusively online for 5 years, we couldn't get any delivery slots.
So I did it physically and found it a much better experience. Wandering round the shop I pass items that I would never have found on the website, oh I'll try those. I can get bread from the back of the shelf which is several days fresher. The strawberries don't look or smell fab this week, I'll get some different fruit. I can get the size of baking potatoes I actually want. They have 4 different banana options, and I can choose those in best condition on the day. Etc.
I find it easier and less stressful than doing it online. If they haven't got some essential ingredient for a planned meal I can decide to cook something else instead, and not end up with a load of stuff I'm not going to use for lack of that one thing.
I also think it works better for Tesco. Not only do they not have to pay someone to pick, pack and deliver, but I'm spending more. Online we'd spend about 90 quid a week. Now I spend between 120 and 160. Admittedly this is to the detriment of our local Sainsbury's where I do any top ups that are required.
Mrs Trebor occasionally moans that I won't do it online citing petrol and time costs. But it gets me out of the house, and frankly if I can avoid staring at a screen getting frustrated with technology having done it all day for work, then that's a good thing.

Plus, the shop is usually fairly quiet with so many doing it online. I like it.

When lockdown came in I found going and physically doing the shopping an absolute lifeline just for being able to see people. Since I don't have a car a lot of my previous in-store shopping was at a large local rather than dragging it all a mile from the bigger Sainsbury's. I only switched online after masks came in. Compared to previous experiences of desperately trying to fill an 80 quid order to qualify for the voucher, finding that filling 40 quid is easy and substitutions are now rare and generally result in me getting nicer stuff for cheap, I'm loving the whole thing.

Since I've also switched from a tiny Tesco to Sainsbury's and lost access to the reduced section, the price of ready meals has effectively doubled overnight, and I now have access to normal veg and meat rather than overpriced premium-brand nonsense, so it's become a no-brainer to cook an eat like a proper adult. Quite a revelation.

 

[Bantamzen]

An interesting discussion. In contrast to some other experiences here, I've found lockdown has made me change my habits in the other direction. Having done the supermarket shopping exclusively online for 5 years, we couldn't get any delivery slots.
So I did it physically and found it a much better experience. Wandering round the shop I pass items that I would never have found on the website, oh I'll try those. I can get bread from the back of the shelf which is several days fresher. The strawberries don't look or smell fab this week, I'll get some different fruit. I can get the size of baking potatoes I actually want. They have 4 different banana options, and I can choose those in best condition on the day. Etc.
I find it easier and less stressful than doing it online. If they haven't got some essential ingredient for a planned meal I can decide to cook something else instead, and not end up with a load of stuff I'm not going to use for lack of that one thing.
I also think it works better for Tesco. Not only do they not have to pay someone to pick, pack and deliver, but I'm spending more. Online we'd spend about 90 quid a week. Now I spend between 120 and 160. Admittedly this is to the detriment of our local Sainsbury's where I do any top ups that are required.
Mrs Trebor occasionally moans that I won't do it online citing petrol and time costs. But it gets me out of the house, and frankly if I can avoid staring at a screen getting frustrated with technology having done it all day for work, then that's a good thing.

Plus, the shop is usually fairly quiet with so many doing it online. I like it.

What you have described there is exactly what supermarkets rely on, and even the reason they swap aisles around periodically. Most customers will arrive in a supermarket with a list or a fair idea of what they want, however many will see other items they hadn't thought of or might fancy whilst wandering around. Online shopping is less likely to generate such impulse buying.