To be surprised ay how busy the shops are?

[incognitomum]

I had to pop to pick up a package from M&S. It was busy and apparently had been non stop all day. Lots of elderly.

Nandos was packed as I passed. Everywhere looked busy. Asda and Aldi car parks packed.

I thought it would be a ghost town.

We would probably last for about 5 to 6 weeks if it came to it. However, I've always stockpiled and 3 to 4 weeks would be the situation at most times in our house.

I was brought up in a rural area that could be cut off for days at a time by snow so I suppose I do it without thinking about it.

We stockpiled extra for Brexit as well picking up extra cans, cooking oil and dried food over the period of 2 to 3 months so we have plenty anyway, just not for what we bought it for!!

We also seem to have plenty of cleaning stuff sadly because I much prefer buying it to using it!!!
Tonight we are having the last of the Christmas ham which I've just dug out of the freezer

I went to buy some cleaning products. If we are getting stuck inside, this house is getting a proper spring clean. Also want to go out and buy some gardening things to keep us busy and productive.

I was shocked at how many elderly people there were out and about. I suppose maybe they are just more stoic than us having lived through the war etc but I did concern me.

The supermarkets were mobbed- it was like xmas eve!

Lots of empty shelves.

But the local small shops/ street was quieter than usual.

Boots chemist had a Christmas Eve at 4pm kind of vibe - especially the medicines area

I went to Waitrose at about 9.30 am this morning and that was exactly what it looked like. I only wanted a few bits including a certain dessert for DPs birthday, but I couldn't get it and there was just big gaps all over the place.

Looks like the residents of my city will be gorging themselves on Waitrose chilled puddings if the next stage is total lockdown.

Exactly. It brings out the absolute worst in everyone.
The country is full of self centred, insensitive idiots.

The irony is that we have no anti bac gel in the house anywhere. I will be commuting on trains and tubes next week but I bet there's households with 10 bottles at the moment ready to self isolate the minute Karen down the road coughs

Finally got some diesel today as the local Morrisons has had queues miles long for the last week. I've done a stocktake of all my tins and dried food and bar a couple of things that would be nice seem to have a good stock. I normally buy one extra of something every week as then it's not too big a bill if I run out all in one go.

The store itself was busy but not packed but it was 9am but still no loo roll or anti-bac cleaning stuff but, again, I buy as and when I think I'm running out and can always resort to bleach if I run out as I somehow have a lot of it.

DD came back from London today and said Piccadilly Circus was busy last night so was difficult to tell if people were staying home but the tube had less people than you would expect for a Friday night. She works in Dorothy Perkins and has said the footfall has been really low this last week and she expects it to get lower.

My other DD works in the co-op and has just been issued with gloves for being on the till. She said it's just as busy but that's to be expected with it being a supermarket. They have been rationing stock for the last week as it just goes but do get deliveries every day so by doing this most people stand a chance of buying what they want/need.

We went to the pub last night and whilst it had a few regulars in there were no bookings for food when last Friday it was heaving. We are going down tomorrow for our weekly shop of fresh bits and pieces plus a couple of other bits - I wonder if I can get him to go via B&Q and pick up some items he could be getting on with if we have to stop work. Problem is he would expect me to help him.......

I went into town yesterday. The main shopping street had a fairly normal vibe, possibly a bit quieter.

The edge that is more offices, boutiques and restaurants/ pubs was very quiet. I should imagine that a lot were working from home so fewer office staff avaliable to go out on lunchbreaks.

makes more sense to go now while risk is still 100x times lower than it's going to be in a few weeks (going by the graph used in gov press conference the other day)

Sainsburys here has been a mess for the last few weeks due to reorganising it to cram an Argos in, so people have been wandering about trying to find out where stuff has gone. It was worse today due to gaps on shelves as you couldn't tell where things would have been. Full of people pushing trolleys ahead and looking sideways so had to be on my guard.

No fights breaking out, just normal shopping, no overloaded trolleys, a few very full ones.

As expected not a toilet roll in sight but there were kitchen rolls, dumped on the shelf in the packaging they arrived in so people had to open it up to get them, and a limit of 2 per customer. Detergent was scarce, and weirdly, pickles seemed to be selling out. Dry cat food almost gone. Sadly they have less choice now so less pet food in general, it used to have almost everything. Luckily I am feeding a dustbin of a cat at the moment. Very few teabags.

All in all a very strange feeling in there.

I did notice the charity shop wasn't very busy but wasn't browsing, just dropping off.

It is not panic buying any longer.

It is hoarding.

I am not talking about people who keep a few weeks stock of their own personal favourite essentials and nesscesary medications because they usually do it considerately and then switch to weekly small amounts while rotating it all forward.

I am talking about the greedy bastards who are buying more than anyone needs and are emptying shelves in one fell swoop. Greedy, grasping, grabbing selfish turds.

You are the reason the shelves are bare everywhere. There wouldn’t be a supply issues if you and others like you didn’t put a strain on demand.

FFS! Preppers arent putting a strain on demand. They have stocks already from since, well, forever.
We dont have to panic buy we just do normal shops unlike panic buyers who grab anything and everything right now.
I work in a supermarket and this past week has been absolutely crzy with panic buyers.

Supermarkets near me are starting to run out of things and when stock comes in it's being snapped up in minutes.

No cleaning or multi-surface products at all, no bleach, no pasta or any type, canned goods starting to go - only one tin of chickpeas left on the shelf and no tinned tomatoes at all. No cooking oil - I managed to get a bottle of veg oil only because someone had changed their mind and left it on a random shelf! Biscuits are also starting to go - very little left including Rich Tea so people must be desperate.

Interestingly liquid hand soap and bar soap have been gone for a few days now, and there's a run on shower gels - that section was about 3/4 bare...

You are the reason the shelves are bare everywhere. There wouldn’t be a supply issues if you and others like you didn’t put a strain on demand

@heartsonacake are you going to apologise for having a go at someone who wasn't panic buying at all? Perhaps save your anger for those who are stockpiling and trying to profit from people's fears? Like the sellers on Amazon who are literally sitting on warehouses full of medicines, hand sanitiser and masks?

Waitrose was very busy. There was loo roll, pasta, beans etc. However all minced beef was sold out as were all ibuprofen and paracetamol. There was some expensive soap left but not much. The checkout man said that it was like Christmas with people spending on average £200!
We bought tinfoil, cling film and a lot of junk (choc, biscuits, crisps) as well as an ordinary shop. No one seemed to be in the cafe though.

I was in Lidl at 8am as usual today. Normally there would be about 10 customers at that time but there must have been about 40 today. No pasta or toilet rolls

I joked to the cashier yesterday that I wasn't panic buying, I just have ravenous children (with a penchant for tinned classics like mushy peas, rice pudding and fruit cocktail- nicely predictable in texture for sensory processing compared to fresh foods)
He said that he knew I wasn't because I didn't have over 10 of everything.

Interestingly liquid hand soap and bar soap have been gone for a few days now, and there's a run on shower gels - that section was about 3/4 bare

Why is that a surprise? Everyone's buying any type of soap product. It would be more interesting really if those shelves were full.

I suspect supplies will catch back up in the next week or so, there's got to be a limit to how much stuff people have the inclination to buy or room to store.

South coast here, thought i would get to Aldi for the weekly shop nice and early while it was quiet. How mistaken was I, absolute chaos. Worse than Christmas eve. People still buying toilet roll like its going out of fashion.
I just wanted my normal shop, plus a bit extra for lunches should the schools shut, and some extras for our lent foodbank collection.

I think the uncertainty over will we go into a nationwide shutdown or not is unnerving people. Either they pretend its not happening, or they go a bit crazy and buy a trolly full of loo roll.

Our main town was v busy yesterday- I think it is a last chance saloon mentality. I ended up buying some new pj bottoms and pillow cases just on the off chance I got ill and couldn’t do as much washing 😂

@heartsonacake there's always one who has to pile on isn't there!! I'm actually starting to think it's sensible to buy extra because no-one knows when we'll be in lock-down!!

Our local Waitrose was busy but Tesco was scarily quiet. Still the same number of dollopers blocking the aisles while they inspect teabags or shampoo or whatever, though.

Popped to my local Aldi earlier, bought only what I needed including one roll of kitchen roll up use as a loo roll back up. No dried pasta or loo rolls and bizarrely no lemons.... but I have enough to see me through and plenty of ingredients to get to grips with my Ninja Pressure cooker thing. Now's the time to get bake creative !