Online Grocery Shopping for At-Risk Groups - Not Enough Slots

Sophrosyne

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Just logged on to SuperValu.

No slots available until Saturday next 21st March and there are only 2 available on that date.

Is it the same with other supermarkets?

Lots of those in the at-risk groups would depend on online grocery shopping.
 
Presumably anyone who needs a grocery shop would have a neighbour who could do it for them? There are lots of people working from home.

What did we do before online grocery shopping?

Brendan
 
Guardian reports that UK supermarkets struggling to meet online demand...
Sainsburys had no delivery slots for the next three weeks, Ocado was closed to new customers and had introduced a “virtual queue” for existing customers and Waitrose was off line altogether.
 
I was wondering is it that they don't have enough delivery vans or drivers.

Would it make sense with dwindling in-store shoppers to invest more in online services?
 
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Have you tried Tesco Click & Collect? It's an option in some of the larger stores.
Not total self isolation, but you aren't interacting with lots of other customers.
 
SuperValu also has a click & collect facility.

The main point I was making was that for the foreseeable future there will be greater demand for online shopping and less in-store shopping.

This would not be confined to grocery shopping.
 
Even the online infrastructure struggling with volumes.

Tesco website crawling at times.

Boots website has a virtual queue like ticketmaster just to browse before putting in an order.
 
If you wait until midnight and refresh tesco delivery schedule page the next free date shows up with booking times. It is 3 weeks out. But if you start now and do it every week you’ll get weekly delivery. You need to place a minimum order of €50 but you can change your order up until the night before delivery and they don’t charge your card until day of delivery.
Hope this helps.
 
Presumably anyone who needs a grocery shop would have a neighbour who could do it for them?
Not necessarily. In the countryside not everyone has many neighbours and some may be self-isolating as well. I was talking to someone this morning who is in this position but thankfully the local supermarket is prioritising vulnerable people for click and collect shopping. Of course they are dependent on people not abusing this system...
 
Due to a “serious technical issue” my online SuperValu order is not being delivered today and is being moved to Tuesday. I placed the order in good time and received email notice of the change very late today during the delivery time I had picked. It may be local or if not, somehow related to a change this week where orders which used to be possibly updated up to midnight the night before now can only be updated before 6pm. I never heard of orders being messed up like this from SV and as my local store is one of the flagship stores it is quite possible hundreds of customers are involved.
 
Tesco seem to have made a lot more click and collect slots available, at least in Clare Hall Dublin, had been booked up for next 3 weeks and this morning there were loads of open slots.
 
Due to a “serious technical issue” my online SuperValu order is not being delivered today and is being moved to Tuesday.

With systems operating at their limits, things like a truck breakdown could cause significant disruption.
 
There are other options depending on your location which may be less known and seem to have availability;

Fresh supermarkets are doing deliveries in Dublin (freshonline.ie I think) - seem to have next day
Buymie app seems to have delivery slots - covers Tesco and Lidl in my area but think it is location dependent
Fresh fruit and veg online - there is a company delivering (again might be just Dublin)
A lot of good butchers and fishmongers doing online delivery
 
With systems operating at their limits, things like a truck breakdown could cause significant disruption.
There are lots of logistics fleets operating at their limits and few garages are open for servicing and repairs.
 
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