Supermarkets have moved to reinstate product limits on certain essential products, as customers flock to the stores in the wake of Friday’s lockdown announcement.
As reports of queues, crowded car parks and potential panic buying hit social media, Woolworths and Coles announced that they would limit purchases of certain products.
According to Woolworths, “the will ensure Woolworths customers have fair access to essential products”.
Woolworths Victoria assistant state manager, John Di Tirro said: “We understand this is an anxious time for Victorians, but we want to reassure customers we will remain open as an essential service.
“We have plenty of stock to draw on from our suppliers and distribution centres and our team will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes over the coming days.
“We encourage Victorian to be mindful of others in the community and to continue shopping as they usually would.”
In a statement, Coles said it would implement purchase restrictions and additional safety measures to keep customers and staff safe.
Service levels for Coles Online have also been increased.
Mr Di Tirro added: “As always, we ask our customers to follow all social distancing and hygiene measures while shopping in our stores. We also ask customers to treat our team and each other with respect as we work through this uncertain time together.”
Star News understands Aldi is not putting in restrictions on products at this time.
The list of restrictions at Woolworths is as follows:
2 items per customer, per shop
● Antibacterial wipes
● Canned fish
● Canned tomatoes
● Canned legumes
● Canned vegetables
● Flour
● Frozen chips, including gems and wedges
● Frozen desserts
● Frozen fruit
● Frozen vegetables
● Longlife milk
● Longlife specialty milk
● Liquid handwash
● Noodles
● Pasta
● Paper towels
● Rice
● Sugar
● Tissues
● Toilet paper
● Bread loaves (including in-store)
● Chilled pasta
● Eggs
● Fresh milk (excluding flavoured)
● Meat -○ Burgers, rissoles, meatballs
○ Mince (fixed weight only)
○ Sausages
○ 2 packs beef
○ 2 packs chicken
○ 2 packs lamb
○ 2 packs pork
2kg limits on the following:
● Meat from the Butcher
● Poultry from the Deli
● Smallgoods from the Deli
Limits at Coles Supermarkets, Coles Express and Coles Onlines include:
A one pack per customer limits for the following items:
– Toilet paper
– Paper towel
And a two pack per customer limits for the following items:
– Fresh white milk
– Hand sanitiser
– Chilled pasta
– Liquid soaps
– Poultry thighs
– Poultry breasts
– Tissues
– Mince
– Burgers
– Frozen Vegetables
– Sausages
– Frozen Chips
– Long life milk
– Canned meals
– Pasta
– Canned fish
– Flour
– Canned vegetables
– Rice
– Pre-packed seafood
– Sugar
– Noodles
– Eggs
– Face Masks
Panic buying is discouraged.
