The sales of hand sanitiser, antibacterial soap, antibacterial surface wipes, antibacterial hand wipes, kitchen roll, tissues and toilet roll have been limited to a maximum of any three items per customer in response to “exceedingly high demand”.
Because of the mix and match nature of this limit, this is much more stringent than measures introduced by other supermarkets. The Tesco in West Jesmond, for example, has limited sales of toilet paper to two per customer. Despite the strict measures, the Co-op's supplies of both toilet and kitchen roll ran out by midday today.
The Co-op, however, has not yet introduced sales restrictions to non-perishable foods, whereas Tesco has introduced a limit on packs of pasta to five per customer. As of 5pm today, however, only one pack of pasta remained on the Co-op's shelves.
Ellie James said: "I think it's a great idea. Stockpiling is just causing panic and, as soon as one person starts doing it, everyone else follows suit."
Image: Patrick Harland
