Why do so many couples go to the supermarket together?

[Changingmyname1234]

I was at the supermarket this morning. I go once at the weekend so dh can supervise our young DC without WFH distractions. The past 3 weeks I've noticed quite a few couples shopping together. Some have even been wearing gloves and masks... I'm totally baffled why people need to do this. It makes social distancing so much harder and increases their risk of passing it on or catching it. Surely if one doesn't drive the other can just wait in the car. Maybe there a good reason that I'm just missing. I am just curious really...

I'm using nisa/ budgens that type of thing. All the corner shops here have closed, we only have mid sized shops or supermarkets, but no other be uses mid sized shops so I find them much less crowded/ easier.

I've been a couple of times with my husband. We go round with separate trollies, he gets our stuff and I get my parent's and our neighbour's stuff. One person with three separate lists and item restrictions makes shopping very complicated. I like to think most people are just doing their best to get what they need when they can, it's starting to really irritate me that strangers feel the need to police things and make judgements on how/why people are shopping. Look after yourself and try giving over people the benefit of the doubt, the majority of people are decent human beings just trying their best to look after themselves, their children and often other people.

I’ll hold my hands up, we did this last week. We usually go together so we don’t forget anything as we only go once every 10 days. We don’t do it anymore & im a bit gutted people think I’m selfish

I went to the dp a shop yesterday and it was the same. Think out of a queue of about 50 people, 3 of us were alone. Shop was just allowing them in in pairs. Surely that defeats the purpose. Also, the staff were not observing the 2 meter rule. I've been to about 3 different supermarkets since lockdown and it's the same in every one.

I'd rather my OH weren't shopping with me at all. I have had medical problems, but it's still preferable! Hopefully he won't be my OH for much longer, sorry to sidetrack..

After sending my usually sensible DH shopping last week as he had to go in to work anyway I can see why.

My list was fairly general as no idea of stock levels/ limits so "meat" included a big beef joint, lamb chops and a side of salmon all to be cooked in 5 days. Normally not a problem but we've just moved house so the kitchen is still cluttered until everything has found a home so simple meals earlier in the cycle would have been more help.

Yes they were all bargains but trying to meal plan around missing basics (for us, toddler is dairy free so need oatly cream/creme fraiche which seem to be unobtainable) is an utter pain. Plus don't really want to do and clear up a complicated meal.

Because we need to decide what to buy and like to share chores. We walk to the supermarket so for carrying reasons 2 people are needed. I do nip on my own occasionally but usually we tie the shopping onto a walk to avoid leaving the house more times. Food is the only pleasure we have left

This is what I suspect is the case most of the time... That's all very nice but surely you can see your endangering others. We're all having to make sacrifices to save lives.

Of course there's exceptions like disabilities, no transport, single parents and that's fine but it's where 2 adults are going and it's completely unnecessary that is really frustrating. I don't think doing a weekly family shop is beyond most healthy adults who can push a trolley and then load it into a car.

It’s not people making judgement, it restrictions introduced by the supermarkets. It’s was announced over the tannoy this morning about every 10 minutes whilst I was shopping for ourselves and two neighbours. No restrictions on what I could buy over the three transactions.

I don’t get it even outside of lockdown. It’s almost invariably pensioners who just can’t consider doing anything without the other. My mum and dad are the same. Of course there might be exceptions and people who really need both of them at the shop but I bet most you see dont.

But then in normal times I also don’t get whole families who seem to treat the weekly shop as an outing either

I went with my partner yesterday and had to wait outside as they only allow one person per household. As others have mentioned, we walk there and so can only buy what we can carry. It makes more sense to me to do one big shop between us than to keep doing small trips individually.

I had this conversation with an older relative last week. She and her husband are late 60s and both have health issues but needed to get shopping in, couldn't consider ordering anything for delivery and couldn't possibly manage with just one of them going. I was almost banging my head on the wall at the end of it

I went with my partner on Friday because we are shopping for our family of four, our parents in law who are shielded and my sister in law and her sons who are also shielded category. It's impossible to get all that shopping for 9 people in one trolley. We also drop it to their porches on the way home so no extra journeys. In addition I know people who have severe anxiety and do not usually go out to shop but cannot get a delivery and do they appreciate the support of another person.

@beaker25

My local Co op doesn't have a one person limit either. It just says they may limit how many people go into the shop. So if you're only going to small local shops I can see why you wouldn't know about the one person limit.

On Thursday my Dh and I went to lidls both with separate lists and bags as it was a shop that we wanted to last 2 weeks and included heavy items such as dog food etc, queued up separately and didn't even get out of the car together
Security would only let one of us in as we had arrived together!
I appreciate its difficult times but I did point out that we could have come in separate cars
It took me double the time and he went across to Sainsburys and bought a load of non essential beer while he was waiting for me!

Under normal circumstances DP and I shop together. We go on foot so it helps with carrying things home and means we can each choose items that we like to pick ourselves.
Now is not the time for that though. One of us goes, waits until the queue to get in and goes round with a trolley to buy stuff. We send a text message to the other one when we’re nearly done and then meet at the edge of the car park to share the load with carrying stuff home.
Our Tesco has a one adult per trolley rule but seem to be quite lax in enforcing it. I always see at least a few couples when I go. With a one person in, one person out rule it’s actually really annoying as it makes the queues to get in longer.

@twoHopes I have just ordered a shopping trolley on amazon (not the OAP push along ones but the pull along suitcase type), I am hoping that this will cut down on trips. People forget that not all of us have a car.

I really worry about getting turned away and told one per trolley. I am on crutches can't push the trolley and also have severe food allergies, Dh severely dyslexic so sending him with a list not possible. Up until now we have managed to get a couple of click and collects but if that didn't happen we would genuinely need to both go. I also worry about finding a non busy time as I physically couldn't stand and queue outside (visions of having to bring some kind of folding chair or something and have dh hold it every time we had to move forward so I could get out of it) Suddenly getting up during the night checking for click and collect slots doesn't seem so bad

I'm sure they do it specially to piss off Mumsnet.

Miggins. Me neither. It’s as though one party is incapable of taking a list and doing what is a simple task. If they cannot take a list and buy and pay for it on their own how on earth do they manage life in general? A job for example?

You have only got to see the responses on here to understand that people really don’t get it. The economy is tanking, there is a recession coming but as long as you can continue couple shopping that is the most important thing ever.

The question I have is why teenagers from different households are meeting up and going to the supermarket together.... just came back from Tesco and there were two teenagers girls standing next to each other behind me, and went in together and did their shopping together. By the sounds of their chat, they were not sisters or living in the same household.

Parents need to stop their kids from doing this.

The question I have is why teenagers from different households are meeting up and going to the supermarket together.... just came back from Tesco and there were two teenagers girls standing next to each other behind me, and went in together and did their shopping together. By the sounds of their chat, they were not sisters or living in the same household

Fucking hell the very definition of busybody

We are retired and normally shop together but almost always walk so it means it's easier to carry shopping home. Obviously at the moment only one of us is going, the fewer people in store the better. We are limiting shopping trips to once a week to reduce contact with others as much as possible.

This thread is not talking about people who are going with a carer or because they physically need help due to disability. It's not talking about people that are going in couples who are shopping for multiple households - who I assume arnt walking round together anyway.

It's about people needlessly going in pairs because they think the rules don't apply to them, or they are board at home and just want to take a trip to the shop, or they are incapable of doing anything independently.

Having seperate finances is not an excuse. Take two cards or transfer the money online. You could even scan as you shop and pick up two scanners.
Needing help carrying isn't an excuse - the helper can wait outside.
Needing a driver isn't an excuse. The driver can wait in the car.
Your dh being useless isn't an excuse. They are, I hope, an adult and will just need to learn.

It's the supermarket workers I feel sorry for. The more people coming in the more likely they will get ill and get a bigger viral load making them seriously ill.

I am not a 'busybody' thank you, I just want this lockdown to be over as quick as fucking possible! The longer people flout the rules, the more this virus will spread and the longer it will take to get back to normal society.

By the sounds of their chat, they were not sisters or living in the same household

They must have been talking very load for you to hear their conversation while maintaining social distance.