Woolworths and Coles have both announced that only elderly and disadvantaged customers will be given access to their stores between 7-8am each day. These measures are due to come into place tomorrow, March 17.
Woolworths were the first to announce the initiative on Monday morning, with Coles following suit in the afternoon. Woolworths have indicated that elderly and disabled shoppers will have to show a concession card before they’re given access during these exclusive shopping hours.
We’re launching a dedicated shopping hour in our stores to help support the needs of the elderly & people with disability in the community. From tomorrow until at least friday, we’ll be opening exclusively for them to shop from 7-8am, where permitted.
— Woolworths (@woolworths) March 15, 2020
Both of the mega supermarkets are facing unprecedented demand, with supermarket shelves emptying just as quickly as they’re restocked. To combat the extreme consumer demand, Woolworths and Coles will close at 8pm every night to restock shelves. Coles are also planning to employ an extra 5000 casual staff across the country and will suspend online shopping expect for those in isolation.
Woolworths have also announced a suspension on home deliveries and have imposed a series of restrictions on the amount of goods customers can buy. The restrictions apply to meat, hand sanitiser, toilet paper, tissue paper, pasta and rice.
Watch: Supermarket shelves emptying around Australia
Woolworths’ managing director of supermarkets Claire Peters told Channel 9 that the frantic has led to a sales increase larger than during the Christmas period. And while supermarket shelves were in a sorry state over the weekend, Peters assured Australians that Woolworths wasn’t struggling to restock.
“The great news for Australia is huge support from all of our suppliers who do issue toilet paper for us,” said Peters. “They have also changed their lines to a different pack size in order that more customers can get their hands on a pack. You’ll see that coming through the network from this week.”
In announcing a state of emergency, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews encouraged households to stock up on enough goods to last them for 14 days but no longer. If you’re in need of casual work, head to the Coles website to apply.
