If you’re worried about queuing at the supermarket or want to avoid the crowds, Aldi has released a clever new traffic light system which shows when its supermarkets are quietest.
On April 14, Aldi extended its opening hours until 10pm Monday to Friday so that customers could shop more safely. The company found that customers did most of their shopping in the morning, and found that its stores are busiest during mid-morning from 10am and 2pm, and quietest from 7pm to 10pm.
As demand for food delivery continues to impact customers ordering online, more supermarkets are encouraging shoppers to visit stores during the coronavirus pandemic to purchase food.
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Despite boosting its online grocery shopping capacity by more than 20%, Tesco has previously admitted it still isn’t able to keep up with the thousands of customers who are placing online orders.
The retailer has introduced new safety measures in its stores to help reduce the risk of infection, such as implementing floor markings so people can adhere to social distancing rules, and it has installed protective screens at the checkout.
“Between 85% and 90% of all food bought will require a visit to a store and here significant changes to the store environment have been implemented to maximise safety for colleagues and customers,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.
People are also encouraged to shop on their own to reduce the number of people in-store at one time and to avoid store hours dedicated to vulnerable and elderly people, and NHS workers.
Alternatives are available
If you’d rather avoid going to the stores altogether, Morrisons has introduced a Morrisons food box initiative, which includes essential items that can be delivered straight to your door.
You can also order some Morrisons products from Amazon Prime Now if the service is available in your area (if you don’t have a Prime membership, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial and cancel before your trial ends with no strings attached).
Instead of ordering your grocery delivery online, why not take advantage of some fantastic meal delivery services? You can get recipe boxes, delicious takeaways or order some extra tipple. We’ve rounded up a few choices for you to consider below.
Recipe box and meal delivery
- Allplants - plant-based meal delivery, cooked by chefs
- Feast Box - £20 off your first world food recipe box
- Mindful Chef - healthy recipe boxes with fresh ingredients for you to cook
- SimplyCook - Get a £3 trial recipe box to cook at home
Pizza delivery
- Domino's - 50% off pizza when you spend £35 or more
- Pizza Hut - get two medium pizzas and a classic side for £20
- Papa John's - contact-free pizza delivery
Takeaway delivery
- Deliveroo - takeaway delivery from top restaurants
- Just Eat - takeaway delivery from local restaurants
- Uber Eats - takeaway delivery from your favourite restaurants
Alcohol delivery
- Beer Hawk - free delivery on beer orders over £50
- The Bottle Club - 5% off when you spend £30 with code: PUBSCLOSED5
- The Drink Shop - 20% off selected wine, beer and spirits
- Vinatis - up to 50% off select wines
