UK supermarket restrictions: what you need to know

Tesco

Limits to shopping hours All stores closing at 10pm for restocking. Some larger stores with pharmacies will stay open later. Temporary closure of all fresh food counters except bakeries.

Purchase restrictions Maximum of three of each item. Multi-buy promotions axed.

Vulnerable customers Priority hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning from 9am-10am (apart from Express stores) for the elderly and vulnerable.

Online delivery restrictions Online customers are asked to go to physical stores to free delivery slots for the elderly and vulnerable.

Other Floor marking in stores to facilitate social distancing. Employees who are over 70, vulnerable or pregnant will not be expected to work for 12 weeks and will be fully paid over that time. Workers self-isolating paid in full.

Sainsbury’s

Limits to shopping hours All cafes and meat, fish and pizza counters closed.

Purchase restrictions Maximum of three of any grocery product, maximum of two of most popular products, including toilet roll, soap and UHT milk.

Vulnerable customers First hour after opening set aside for elderly and vulnerable customers. Priority access to online delivery slots for customers aged over 70 or disabled from Monday 26 March.

Online delivery restrictions Expanding click and collect service, increasing number of collection sites across the country, including car park collection points.

Asda

Limits to shopping hours Temporary closure of 24-hour stores between 12am and 6am.

Purchase restrictions Maximum of three of any product.

Vulnerable customers From opening until 9am is priority time for the elderly and vulnerable.

Online delivery restrictions Asking customers to consider less popular delivery times.

Aldi

Limits to shopping hours Shorter hours, closing at 8pm each day.

Purchase restrictions Shoppers only allowed to purchase four of each product.

Other Installing clear screens at all UK checkouts.

Lidl

Yet to introduce any item restrictions, but has asked customers to be considerate.

Waitrose

Limits to shopping hours Some early closures for restocking. All afes and coffee machines suspended.

Purchase restrictions Maximum three of each grocery item (excl fresh fruit/veg and some alcohol) and maximum two packs of toilet roll.

Vulnerable customers: Priority first hour for elderly, vulnerable and their carers. Working on special deliveries for vulnerable customers.

Other Six hundred John Lewis employees sent to help at Waitrose branches. Employees get free meals at work.

Morrisons

Limits to shopping hours Shorter opening hours and closing at 8pm.

Purchase restrictions Limits on toilet roll, cleaning products and some health and beauty items.

Vulnerable customers Making more delivery slots available.

Online delivery: Making more slots available to customers through morrisons.com and the Morrisons stores on Amazon Prime Now.

Other Immediate payments for smaller suppliers. Five hundred head office workers working in distribution centres and stores. A call centre for people who cannot shop online to order by phone.

Marks and Spencer

Limits to shopping hours Closure of all cafes.

Purchase restrictions Maximum two items per customer of frozen food, home products, groceries and eggs.

Vulnerable customers First hour of trading reserved for older and vulnerable customers.

Other Special shopping hour for NHS and emergency service workers during first hour of trade each Tuesday and Friday morning. 4,600 employees from clothing, home and cafe teams drafted in to help at food stores. Working with suppliers to increase production of British food products.

Ocado

Initially launched an online queueing system to enter the website. Access to ocado.com suspended due to delivery slots being fully booked and site at full capacity. After the suspension, Ocado says it will prioritise vulnerable and elderly customers.