Supermarkets are hit by panic buying

SHOPS have seen a surge in panic buying fuelled by the coronavirus crisis.

With two chains already rationing sales, a former Tesco executive said a major outbreak in Britain would ‘quickly lead to empty shelves and food riots’.

Ocado has emailed customers to warn it is running out of home delivery slots due to ‘exceptionally high demand’ and ‘particularly large orders’. Waitrose reported ‘seeing more demand for... cleaning products and hand sanitisers’, and Tesco’s website has sold out of hand gel.

Lidl said it is ‘experiencing a significant increase in demand for durable products and disinfectants’. It has now limited sales of hand sanitisers to two per customer – as has Boots.

Industry experts insist that supermarkets have contingency plans to cope with a worst-case scenario and, despite the pressure, will ensure food remains on shelves.

However, senior food markets analyst Bruno Monteyne, a former Tesco executive, warned: ‘If a major [coronavirus] outbreak happens, that will quickly lead to panic buying, empty shelves and food riots.’

Mr Monteyne, who now works for stockbrokers Bernstein, told industry magazine The Grocer: ‘Plans are surely being drawn up with suppliers to rationalise product ranges when necessary. The objective isn’t to scaremonger. On the contrary: the industry has plans to deal with this. Yes, it will be chaotic – and expect pictures of empty shelves – but the industry will reduce complexity to keep the country fed.’

The British Retail Consortium, which speaks for supermarkets, said there was ‘no evidence’ to justify claims of chaos and food riots. Its director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie, insisted: ‘Disruption to supply chains has been limited, and the availability of products remains good.

‘Retailers are working closely with their suppliers and monitoring consumer behaviour to anticipate changes in future demand.’

Ian Wright, chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, added: ‘At this stage supply chains have experienced disruption but there is no evidence of significant disruption to food supplies.’

However, Ged Futter, a former senior buyer at Asda, said supermarkets were reluctant to admit to shortages for fear of making matters worse.

Mr Futter, now director at consultancy firm The Retail Mind, said: ‘ The last thing retailers will want to talk about is rationing. As soon as you mention rationing it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the food equivalent of a run on the banks.’

Fears of shortages from the Far East to Australia, Europe and the US have already seen shelves being emptied.

‘We will keep the country fed’