With so many new rules (and the rules forever changing) being enforced on us by the government and by the supermarkets themselves, when is the best time to visit supermarkets during COVID-19?
Panic buyers would leave the shelves empty for as far as the eye could see for many weeks when the pandemic first broke out, however now things seem to be a little less stressful as the panic buyers are making their way through their years worth of loo roll and pasta!
For the rest of us normal shoppers, who still need to go food shopping on a weekly/monthly basis, it can still be some what stressful at times – especially if you come across those people NOT adhering to the social distancing measures.
Face Masks
Can’t get a delivery or click and collect slot and have to physically go to the supermarket? Make sure you’re being as safe as possible. You could get yourself a premium antibacterial and washable face mask. Obviously many people don’t wear masks but those who do say they feel that little bit safer. The masks linked above are made from cotton. They’re also washable so you can reuse them. They filter toxic smog as well as bacteria and are UV resistant too! You can get a pack of X5 for £14.95 – one for everyone with maybe a few spare.
Hand Sanitiser
Another thing you could do is to make sure you take a bottle of hand sanitiser with you. Use it before you go in and then again straight after you come out. There are so many available at the moment so you just have to make sure you find one that works. Look on the bottle for one that says it kills 99.999% of bacteria. Believe it or not there are some that look and sound like they do the job but that actually don’t kill bacteria. Many of the Carex limited edition scented ones DO NOT kill bacteria. So bare this in mind! They don’t all have to contain alcohol, just make sure it says they kill the bacteria. One I really like is the Nilaqua alcohol free instant hand sanitiser that isn’t drying – it’s been a skin saver!
So, when is the best time to visit supermarkets during COVID-19? Below we have created a list of tips and tricks that might help you have a more relaxed supermarket trip next time you need to go…
Delivery – Click & Collect
We have written a detailed blog post on when supermarkets release new booking slots and the charges you can expect to see. Hopefully this’ll make it easier for you to get a slot when you need one. Most of which have now added new slots due to cope with the huge demand.
Use Other Websites
Places like Amazon, Deliveroo and Uber Eats are offering grocery deliveries (depending on where you live). Amazon have recently opened up a new subsection on their website. It’s called Amazon Fresh where you can buy a variety of fruits and vegetables. So, if you can’t get a slot through your normal supermarket, you can get a few things this way instead. Please note, this will be quite a bit more expensive than supermarket shopping. We don’t advise you do it very often unless you don’t have a choice or funds aren’t an issue.
Timing Is Everything
Most importantly, when you do need to visit the supermarket, the quieter the better! Obviously there’s no definite way of knowing when a store is going to be at it’s quietest. This depends on many factors. After doing some research, it seems the best times to go are between the hours of 10.30am – 11.30am. Then around 2.30pm – 4pm. Then in the evenings after 8pm. Weekends and mornings are generally the busiest times to try to avoid these times if possible.
Another way of knowing is by using the Google feature. Simply Google your local supermarket, scroll down past the opening hours and contact information and you will see a blue and pink graph. The pink sections are the numbers at that moment in time (live numbers) so could give you better guidance as to when is the best time to go for you. This will be different for each store and in each location but hopefully it will give you a better indication of customer numbers for that particular store.
Underneath the graph, it also has an average time per person in the store. For example, in my local store, the average person spends 25 minutes in the store. This could also give you a clearer indication as to how long you might have to wait in line, especially if the queue is very long…it might be worth going elsewhere if you can!
Hopefully this can help relieve some of the stress and give you an idea on when is the best time to visit supermarkets during COVID-19.
Don’t forget to check out our article on When Supermarkets Release New Delivery Slots
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