Supermarkets across the UK have been experiencing difficulties with deliveries in the country’s cold weather but are adamant shelves will remain stocked.
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As temperatures plummeted as low as -22.3C (-8.1F) overnight (7 January), supermarket staff and drivers battled sub-zero temperatures to ensure homes received deliveries.
Sainsbury’s said its colleagues working in stores and depots around the country had “pulled out all the stops”, often walking or cycling to work in the snow, to ensure that its stores stay open.
“A few deliveries have been slightly delayed in the worst affected areas, but they have all reached stores and shelves have been stocked with soup, bread, stews, ready meals and all the other things that customers have wanted to buy during the freeze,” a spokesperson for Sainsbury’s said.
Asda, the UK’s second-largest grocer, said its deliveries had been slower getting to stores but a spokesperson told just-food that there had been an uplift in sales as people stocked up.
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By GlobalData“Deliveries are going into stores a lot slower but obviously we are still getting things into stores. Customers are buying up what you would expect, soup, porridge etc.”
Tesco, meanwhile, added that many of its customers had been “anticipating the bad weather” and had stocked up on essentials, but was adamant it had not experienced any “panic buying”.
“Our delivery network is keeping stores stocked up,” the retailer added.
Morrisons said that “winter warming” food sales had increased with sales of British stewing and braising beef cuts up by 57% this week, and sales of fresh vegetables such as carrots, onions and potatoes up 14%, collectively,” the retailer said.
The retailer added that it had seen a 400% sales increase in cooking and table salt before Christmas as shoppers salt their paths and steps in the icy conditions. This increased a further 60% in the last week.
Ocado, however, played down reports it had been forced to cancel around 5% of its deliveries as a result of the weather, adding that it had re-booked “a small percentage” as drivers battled the bad weather conditions.
“If and when the deliveries are cancelled, we are trying to re-book as many if not all of them, “ a spokesperson told just-food. “These are being re-booked in areas that have been particularly badly hit by snow.”
