Everything you need to know about how the virus will affect the UK supermarkets and food stock this Christmas 2020.
This article is currently being updated daily.
As we all face new challenges every day it may be difficult to think to a brighter future however, in the words of Kate McAllister in Home Alone “This is Christmas. The season of perpetual hope” so here our expert team has pulled together ALL the latest details including information the supermarkets themselves have shared with us on what we might be experiencing in stores this Christmas.
Will Social distancing still be in place this Christmas?
Supermarkets across the nations have introduced measures to ensure people’s safety, this includes new floor markings to keep a safe distance from each other, encouraging Contactless payments, putting up protective screens and selected opening times for our key workers, so will this still be in place come the festive season? The country’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty said measures will have to remain in place until the end of the year.
Will there be any food shortages as the festive season begins?
Stockpiling and panic buying is one of the key issues that grocery stores had to battle, with sales in the last four weeks being “even higher than levels seen at Christmas”. Could we see this happen again come December? and once again will we see a limit being applied to certain food categories such as turkeys, sprouts, potatoes, and Kevin the Carrot soft toy – please don’t let it be said?!
When will Christmas delivery slots be available?
As it stands, delivery slots for the holiday season usually begin around the start of November, and this is not likely to change, but with an enormous demand during the coronavirus lockdown, online stores have had to change. The good news? already stores have increased their capacity and deliveries, with Tesco set to increase to 1.2 million deliveries per week in the next few weeks to support the most vulnerable customers, which will hopefully make it easier to get your big shop done for Christmas day.
We put some these questions to nine of the major UK food giants and here’s what they’ve each told UnderTheChristmasTree:
Waitrose & Partners said: “Our shops and online services are open and working with social distancing measures in place. We are working with our suppliers on lots of exciting new Christmas products, as well as ensuring we have all the traditional Christmas favourites on our shelves”.
As it stands, unfortunately, Lidl is unable to provide any statements based on speculation at this point, however, we have said if this does change we’ll update our festive friends ASAP.
The British Retail Consortium said: “Although this is not something we can predict, we definitely do not anticipate any food shortages.”
A spokesperson from Aldi told us: “As is the case every year, Aldi is working hard to ensure customers can get everything they need for an amazing Christmas.”
We still await the response from all other UK supermarkets on this hot topic and once they have we’ll ensure to add to this piece ASAP.
In a time where every single one of us is being hit with sad news and disruption, it’s good to remember that although things are and will be different (heck! even Christmas day dinner could be different!) we will get back to better times, and in true British style, we will always make a good situation out of a bad one.
So when you’re feeling a little down or even a bit “grinchy” remind yourself with Home Alone’s Kevin’s words of wisdom. “You can mess with a lot of things, but you can’t mess with kids on Christmas.” – we think this should apply to adults too.
In this constantly changing situation, preparation for Christmas 2020 will undoubtedly change, however as always, we’ll be here to support and keep our festive friends up-to-date with the latest news and advice.
