Tesco measures to include priority shopping hour for most vulnerable

Measures will come into force at all Tesco stores tomorrow, to cope with the pressures of the coronavirus situation.

A message was emailed to customers today, from Tesco CEO Dave Lewis.

It states that from Thursday, March 19, stores will close at 10pm to allow re-stocking; that shoppers will be limited to three items per customer on every product line, and that it plans to introduce a priority hour for the most vulnerable, three days a week.

According to the email, the following changes will come into effect:

*To ensure more people have access to everyday essentials, Tesco is introducing a storewide restriction of only three items per customer on every product line, and removing multi-buy promotions.*In order to allow Tesco colleagues to focus on stocking shelves, helping to provide the essential groceries you are looking for and to avoid waste, Tesco will close all meat, fish, deli counters and salad bars.
* To be able to ensure stores are clean, that they can replenish stock, and allow their colleagues to rest, Tesco will change their trading hours with all stores closing at 10pm.
* To ensure they are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infection for both our customers and colleagues, Tesco will be introducing some distancing measures at the checkout and, to make it swifter, invite customers who can, to pay by card.
* To help free up slots for the more vulnerable, such as elderly customers and those who are self-isolating, Tesco is encouraging customers who shop online or choose Click+Collect for their grocery home shopping, to prioritise shopping in-store where possible.
* To ensure more vulnerable and elderly customers can shop in-store, Tesco will prioritise one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning between 9-10am (except in Express stores), and asks that people respect this.

Mr Lewis added: “Tesco store colleagues can’t work from home, and a good number of them will need to respond to personal or family challenges connected with dealing with COVID-19. So we would please ask that you understand the challenging environment in which we are all working. If you do go in-store and want to say thank you, then I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

“So, if you could help us by limiting demand of essential items, and allowing us to focus on the core needs of our customers — we are confident that we can continue to feed the nation. We are delivering food daily to our stores, but this is a very challenging time and we will only get through this if we work together.”