Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Aldi reveal how strict new lockdown restrictions affect shoppers

24 September 2020, 10:34 | Updated: 24 September 2020, 10:41

The government's new lockdown rules could impact the way in which families shop.

Earlier this week, Boris Johnson announced new lockdown restrictions across England, including a 10pm curfew at pubs, cafes, restaurants.

Face coverings must also now be worn by users of taxis, staff in retail settings and staff and customers in indoor hospitality.

These rules have impacted supermarkets such as Asda, Aldi and Tesco, and some new rules have been brought in to stores. Check out the changes below…

Asda

Asda has announced it will be cracking down on those who do not wear face coverings in their stores.

The supermarket will also introduce 1,000 new ‘safety marshal’ roles across its 639 UK stores to ensure people wear masks correctly.

Marshals will be positioned at the front of each shop and in the aisled of larger superstores.

Customers who don’t have a covering when they enter a store and aren't exempt will be offered a pack of disposable masks that they can pay for at the tills.

There will also be extra hand sanitiser stations installed in the busiest sections of its shops.

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Anthony Hemmerdinger, chief operating officer at Asda, said: "We know that safety remains a key priority for our customers and we will continue to do all we can to keep them and our colleagues safe in store, as we have since the start of the pandemic.

"These additional measures will make our stores an even safer place to shop and work during the coming months."

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Aldi

Anybody caught not wearing a mask in a public space can now be fined £200 in England or £60 in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, including staff and shoppers working in supermarkets.

So Aldi's CEO, Giles Hurley, has asked shoppers to be considerate when in store.

In an email to shoppers, he wrote: "As we continue to battle this virus together, I want to reassure you that the comprehensive safety measures we put in place in our stores at the start of the pandemic are still very much in place – and will remain so for as long as they are necessary.

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"We ask that customers continue to wear a face covering when shopping with us, unless they are exempt from doing so.

"Our store colleagues will also continue to wear face coverings whilst working in store."

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The measures in place include a traffic light system at store entrances to manage the number of people in stores at any one time and protective screens at checkouts.

There are also sanitisation stations at store entrances and contactless payments have been increased to £45.

Mr Hurley added: "I would like to reassure you that our stores remain fully stocked and ask that you continue to shop considerately.

"There is no need to buy more than you usually would. We have remained open for our customers throughout the pandemic and will continue to have daily deliveries, often multiple times a day, across all of our products.”

Tesco

Tesco still has the same rules in place, having scrapped it’s one-way systems last month.

The supermarket also recently announced a new scheme whereby you can buy a mask at the entrance of a store if you've forgotten to bring your own.

When asked if they will start limiting products again, a Tesco spokesman said: “We continue to have good availability for customers in store and online.

"We have significantly increased our online capacity from around 600,000 slots in the first week of the crisis to 1.5 million weekly slots now.”

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s are also keeping the same rules whereby you have to wear a mask when shopping, unless you are exempt.

Bosses have urged people not to start panic buying again, with a spokesman saying: “We can now serve twice as many people with home delivery and Click & Collect as we could six months ago and can reassure our customers there is good availability for slots and products in ours stores.”

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