[ad_1]
England’s supermarket shelves were left bare last weekend before the country enters a second national shutdown.
Snake tails and overloaded carts were photographed in stores across the country on Sunday as panicked shoppers flocked to stock up on supplies.
Under the national closure, grocery stores, supermarkets, garden centers and some other retailers that provide essential goods and services will be able to remain open. However, restaurants, bars, pubs and “nonessential shops” must close.
Shoppers queue outside Costco in Leicester after the announcement
/ Pennsylvania )Hundreds of shoppers lined up in front of a Leicester Costco on Sunday morning, just hours after the prime minister said Britons would be instructed to “stay home” until December 2.
Meanwhile, a winding stream of people queued outside an IKEA in Batley, West Yorkshire, in an attempt to stock up on essentials before spending a month inside.
Brits braved the cold weather to buy some IKEA essentials
/ Pennsylvania )At Sainsbury’s in Weston-super-Mare, the toilet paper shelves were left empty, in a painful echo of scenes captured during the first national lockdown in the spring.
The hashtag “panic buying” gained traction on Twitter throughout the day as people shared their despair over the perceived selfish acts of others.
A view of the toilet paper aisle at Sainsbury’s in Weston-super-Mare
/ Pennsylvania )One frustrated user wrote: “Panic buying hurts vulnerable people, be nice.
“There is no need to do this. You can buy in local stores and markets, as well as the giants and online with next day delivery. #StayHome #storelocal “.
Another noted: “Supermarkets are not closing, as they were not originally closing. Stop panic buying that leaves others without and likely creates more food waste in the process. Buy exactly what you would buy in a normal week, there is absolutely no need to store more! “
Others shared images of shoppers tossing multiple packages of toilet paper underneath, while commenting in exasperation: “I guess you didn’t learn from last time.”
But singer James Blunt made the situation lightly by tweeting a self-destructive comment for his new book.
Posting a link, he wrote, “If you missed your toilet paper roll during the panic #buy, my book is out this Thursday.”
Large retailers have increased their online capacity during the course of the pandemic in an attempt to keep up with demand.
At the end of September, Tesco said its weekly delivery spaces had doubled from 600,000 weekly delivery spaces in March to 1.5 million.
British Retail Consortium (BRC) director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie, said last month: “Supply chains are stronger than ever and we do not anticipate any problems in the availability of food or other goods under a future lockdown.
“However, we urge consumers to be considerate of others and shop as they normally would.”
