Supermarket absolutely rammed - what’s that about?

[WhitethroughtheFright]

We have a large out of town 24 hour Asda about 15 miles down from us. I use it maybe every couple of months as closer than going into the nearest city and more choice than local towns.

Yesterday I went and the car park was absolutely packed with traffic trying to get out. Every lane had a huge queue and they had staff on the roundabouts stopping the traffic. Unfortunately there is no way to see this before you get on the road going in so we were stuck with it. Inside there were huge queues by all the tills. I asked a staff member what was happening thing it was down to a half term or Halloween event. She said it’s always like this every weekend.
I have never seen it like that even at Christmas.
I was thinking that maybe the population around the area has expanded as the as the SE just gets busier and busier. But it was so ridiculously busy for 2pm on a Friday it seemed improbable .Just wondered if anyone had noticed similar?

I suspect that it might be people who have just come back from a week away because we have just had half term, and people who are stocking up for Halloween.

I’ve noticed our city has been constantly busy and I think it’s down to the mild weather in the SW. soon enough we will all be headed indoors until May.

Probably a mixture of stuff - people coming home from a week away due to half term, Halloween - costumes, sweets, party bits, stuff for film night, lots of people shop on Fridays to have all the lovely food for the weekend and ‘typical’ payday.

I never shop on weekends or ‘typical’ payday.

Actually that’s a good point about the weather. People are very much out and about doing stuff.
It was just so bizarre. Busier than both the pandemic stocking up panic and the Christmas rush.

I was at the shops yesterday afternoon including Asda (Trafford Park)and it was absolutely heaving. Half term and local Hallowe’en events/circus. Parking was awful too.

In M&S staff were putting up Christmas trees alongside the Halloween decorations, the food hall was rammed and the staff were frazzled. One of them told me they weren’t getting any extra seasonal workers this year and was dreading December.

It was payday yesterday for a lot of people, too.

I think first Saturday after payday. I noticed this end of September as well. Tesco was busier than Xmas eve, every checkout had a queue stretching halfway to the back of the shop. I waited 15 mins for a self service checkout.

did make me wonder if the economy problems are starting to hit. People are struggling in that last week before payday?

I avoid Asda on Saturdays, Sundays isn't too bad. I only go every 2 months or so as around 10 miles away

Working from home is more popular now so perhaps with flexitime people are clocking off a bit earlier on a Friday to get the weekly shopping done and they've all had the same idea.

Payday/half term/halloween

Wasn't there a load of hype about a new drink as well, I saw pics on my Facebook of people getting the "prime drink" from Asda. I didn't even know what it was. It is either made by or endorsed by KSI (I don't even know who he is, but my 17 year old son wanted to rearrange a flight in the summer to watch him fight!!!) But back to my facebook, a friend had got some bottles of the lucozade type drink and she described a massive queue and her being the last to get some. Equally I cant imagine it causing that much of a stir , its just you mentioned Asda and it seems like thats where it was being sold!. Im probably wrong ......

Our local asda abd tesco have been rammed for weeks. I left it till 7pm Thursday to go and was bedlam! Like Xmas week.
Popped to aldi was dead and has been pretty quiet for a while now.

Half term. Gearing up to go back to work and school. Also halloween parties?

I agree with @howtogetoutofthismess
A lot of Asda's seemed to have had Prime delivered yesterday. Kids are going mad for this drink and you can only get it at Asda. DS is one of them, he requests that I visit Asda every day. I don't, but I suspect a lot of people do.

I noticed the marks and Spencer in our local town was the busiest I have seen it in a long time yesterday. I assumed people starting Christmas shopping? There was Christmas trees and decorations up and people in the queue were asking for gift receipts. And payday of course.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/prime-craze-hits-asda-stores-28271227

And people who get paid at month end, who will only have one more pay day before Christmas?

The retail park local to us was busy yesterday too, M&S Food shop was rammed.

Mixture of half term, payday, good weather I think.

I think like others have said Asda may have been particularly busy yesterday because of the Prime drink. My 13 year old son wanted to go yesterday and as I needed to go to the supermarket anyway, I agreed we could go to Asda
It was ram packed definitely busier than usual
Someone had taken the last of the drinks and he was gutted. They apparently restocked about an hour later but I refused to go back again so I'm worst mother in the world!

roads & shops have felt very busy to me, too, lately.

Halloween (wasn't me emptying the sweet shelves honest!)

What's so great about the new drink? Genuinely interested.

Asda is the pits and is treated like a family outing. I avoid like the plague.

I asked a staff member what was happening thing it was down to a half term or Halloween event. She said it’s always like this every weekend.

So it's normally like that? Do you normally shop on the weekend?

In tough times you usually see peaks & troughs in shopping habits around paydays

End of half term
Pay day weekend (for some)
Halloween (I rarely go to the big shop on a Saturday but did today for Pumpkins)
Last nice day before winter starts