Stockpiling and panic buying amid coronavirus fears in the UK
8302 Mins Read
Online supermarket Ocado has told customers to make their orders further in advance as households began stockpiling food and basic health products in the face of growing fears over the impending scale of coronavirus in Britain.
Experts warned that the UK’s reliance on foreign food imports and last-minute supply chains could leave it vulnerable if the crisis deepens and panic buying takes hold.
As the number of confirmed cases of the virus jumped by six in just 24 hours the online retailer said it had been experiencing “exceptionally high demand” with customers placing “particularly large orders”. Lidl also said they had seen a spike in sales of durable products and disinfectants.
Customers form a queue at a supermarket in Daejeon, South Korea, 29 February 2020, to purchase protective masks amid the spread of the new coronavirus in the country. EPA-EFE/YONHAP
Following the outbreak there have been warnings that panic buying could become rife, with anxious shoppers stripping shelves of tinned food, bottled water and other basics.
Half-empty shop shelves in a supermarket in Wegberg, Germany. EPA-EFE/SASCHA STEINBACH
Already Boots is restricting the purchases of hand sanitiser to two bottles per customer, while shoppers have reported buying large quantities of nappies, toilet roll, soup, tinned fruit, pet food and medicine in case they are forced into self-isolation by the virus.
Many chemists have already sold out of facemasks – despite warnings by health officials they are of limited use in everyday circumstances – and online scammers have begun exploiting fears by selling stocks at vastly inflated prices.
Lidl said its supermarkets were “experiencing a significant increase in demand for durable products or disinfectants.”
Similar cases of panic buying have been reported in several countries as coronavirus panic increases.
