UK coronavirus: Tesco restricts online orders to 80 items each
Tesco has said online customers will have their deliveries capped at 80 items, in the latest move to safeguard supplies during the coronavirus outbreak.
In an email to customers the supermarket said the aim was “to increase the number of customers we can safely deliver to”.
Tesco urged customers to visit stores during the nationwide lockdown so the supermarket can prioritise vulnerable customers.
“We’re at full capacity for the next few weeks and we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so, instead of shopping online. This will help us to free up more slots for the more vulnerable.”
All supermarkets have imposed restrictions on certain food and household items to prevent mass shortages, after a period of panic buying.
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Tesco has already limited all products to a maximum of three per customer, whether online or in store.
Other supermarkets have taken similar measures to ensure elderly and vulnerable customers are able to buy groceries. Sainsbury’s and Ocado have both stopped taking orders from newly created accounts to prioritise the vulnerable.
In his address to the nation on Monday, the Prime Minister urged Brits to move to online delivery as he tightened coronavirus restrictions.
A government database of vulnerable shoppers in England will now be used by retailers to help prioritise delivery slots during the coronavirus crisis.
In recent weeks, Tesco and other supermarkets’ online delivery services have faced unprecedented demand in the face of a tightening of coronavirus restrictions.
This week, British supermarkets also stepped up social distancing measures in the face of the lockdown.
As part of efforts to protect staff, Lidl and Aldi rolled out protective screens this week, and Tesco is also reportedly installing screens at checkouts.