Supermarket mask wearing survey

[GirlAloud]

For the benefit of MN, I have conducted a highly unscientific survey of mask wearing in supermarkets over the last 72 hours. The stores surveyed, except for Waitrose, were on retail parks in & around Leicester. The results are :

Waitrose : 80-90% of people wearing masks.
M&S : 70-80% wearing masks.
Sainsbury’s : 60-70% wearing masks.
Tesco : 50-60 % wearing masks.
Aldi : around 50% wearing masks.
Asda : 20-30 % wearing masks.

Does this agree or disagree with others’ experiences?

Tesco Express here in Birmingham where rates are high. No staff wearing masks, about 40% customers wearing them.

In Sainsbury's yesterday I'd say it was about 90% if not more. At the little co-op all the customers had masks on as did the staff filling shelves but the cashier didn't.

How have you been into 6 different supermarkets since Monday?!

I have only been into Tesco and I would say it was about 80% mask wearing. I was quite surprised actually!

The only time I noticed was yesterday when I went to the co-op and it was a free for all with about 30 people in the small shop and 3 or 4 wearing masks.
I was huffed at for not moving close enough to the person in front of me in the queue.

Wearing mine in situations like that because I work in care. I can't just 'do me'.

This video demonstrates how good masks are at keeping your breath away from other people, or not.

'Moisture expert'. Well I never!

I went to Tesco in Leicester on Tuesday. I'd say 90% were wearing masks.

M&S yesterday and Aldi today- I think pretty much everyone was wearing a mask. Including staff. I noted it as I had wondered how many would not be.

I said this on another thread- I think it's showing more solidarity with shop workers NOT to wear a mask. I'm sure that they're only being told to continue as the bosses think that's what customers want.
I also think that wearing them defies all logic. Given the soaring numbers, they haven't seemed to me to work so well this far!

I went to tesco on Monday and would say 80% wearing masks.
Went to aldi today and would say 90% at least wearing masks.

Our large tesco i would say has 95% wearing masks. I've only spotted the odd mask less person amongst a sea of masks.

DH went to Asda last night and about 80% were wearing masks.

In the co-op I popped into this morning, everyone was wearing a mask.

I took DD shopping for the day the other day in a big shopping centre and everyone seemed to have them off while in the centre, but putting them on to go in the actual shops.

I said this on another thread- I think it's showing more solidarity with shop workers NOT to wear a mask. I'm sure that they're only being told to continue as the bosses think that's what customers want.
Agree with this. Seeing more people without masks gives me more confidence to be able to go without. I struggle with mask wearing but wore one until Monday, I'm sure many people struggled more than me but were too afraid of abuse not to wear one, going without shows solidarity with them too.

Morrisons late yesterday evening: 100% of customers wearing masks, but none of the staff.

I went to my local Tesco, where they are continually putting out on the tannoy to continue wearing masks to protect staff and customers. Most were wearing masks, apart from a couple I saw, who seemed to be getting up close to the security guard. I then went next door to M&S where again message being repeated on tannoy was to keep wearing masks and I didn’t see anyone not wearing one there.

Maybe it’s more geographic than shop based? We have 100% mask wearing last few times I visited Sainsbury’s and Morrison’s.

In Lidl today most people were wearing one. Of the people that weren't one was a man with two children sniffing and manhandling the unwrapped baked goods, the other were a couple spreading themselves across the aisles and getting in everyone's way. Says it all really.

In my limited experience since Monday, most people still seem to be wearing them. It’s a choice now though, and that has to be the bottom line I think.

First time out shopping today since masks became optional. Went to a supermarket and interestingly most shoppers were wearing masks but most of the shop assistants weren't (Waitrose)

Superdrug seemed about half and half.
Primark about the same but most of the shop assistants weren't wearing them and I overheard quite a heated argument going on about this!

I really would prefer it if masks were still mandatory in busy shops. Really put me off going shopping again until the numbers come down again - v v high in this area

Been to Aldi, Lidl, and two small local supermarkets several times this week and only seen a couple of people without a mask so about 95% wearing masks. Tbf, the town where I live, people have been very, very respectful of social distancing and mask wearing.

Many less wearing masks tonight. In a large supermarket, around 70% were wearing masks, in a smaller one only around 20% were wearing them. However it was primarily the younger ones which were not wearing masks and they are the most vulnerable! Lucky if they’ve had 1 jab, most unlikely to be double jabbed. Very sorry for them.

I wonder if the mask wearing has been advised by the behavioural psychologists on SAGE, because they think many are still scared, and the aim is for mask wearing to gradually phase out as more and more go without their masks when they see others doing so. This is what I'm hoping anyway, otherwise their will be no end to it.

However it was primarily the younger ones which were not wearing masks and they are the most vulnerable!
Are they? I would have thought a vaccinated 60 year old would still be more vulnerable than an unvaccinated 20 or 30 year old, I heard it lowered risk by 20 years or something?

Shopped at Lidl (England) yesterday, DH & I didn’t wear a mask, I would say most shoppers were 85% or so.

I’ve been to M&S, Waitrose and the Co-op (twice) since Monday. Pretty much everyone in Waitrose and M&S was wearing masks. Don’t think I spotted anyone without. Nobody in the Co-op (apart from me) was wearing them.