Supermarket delivery slots sell out over coronavirus stockpiling and shoppers say ‘it’s worse than Christmas’
SHOPPERS are being hit with delays of over a week for online grocery shops as delivery slots sell out due to people stockpiling over coronavirus fears.
And some say trying to get a delivery is currently "worse than Christmas".
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
The Sun found delivery slots at Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, and Tesco had sold out for over a week at some addresses, while shoppers are also complaining of delays on social media.
At Asda, we found no delivery slots until Friday March 20 using one east London postcode.
While at Morrisons, there was no delivery available until Sunday March 22 at the same east London postcode.
For Sainsbury's shoppers, you had to wait until Tuesday March 17 for delivery at an east London postcode, while at Tesco there were no slots until Friday March 20 at the same address.
Iceland, however, bucked the trend with delivery options still available on Monday March 16 at the East London address.
'Even Christmas isn't this bad'
Elsewhere around the UK shoppers have also experienced long delays, with some saying the wait is even worse than at Christmas.
One Asda shopper wrote:" "Two-hour delay - estimated at midnight! After waiting four days for an available slot, and five products on my cart unavailable... @asda delivery service is not impressing me much."
While a Sainsbury's customer said: "@sainsburys I’ve never had this issue before. I always order my shopping on a Thursday to be delivered on Friday but there isn’t one slot available for tomorrow! Is this an error on the system?!"
A Morrisons shopper added: "@Morrisons delivery slots not available for nearly a week - they offer no explanation and said they emailed all customers but nothing received."
Another Morrisons shopper said: "@Morrisons there are no delivery slots in my area W9 available until Sunday 15, does this mean that I have to schedule my orders two weeks in advance?"
When it comes to Tesco one person tweeted: "Just went to book a shopping delivery for Monday. @Tesco booked til Wednesday. Never an issue booking two days in advance apart from Christmas."
Another added: "Are people really panic-online-ordering at @Tesco in the UK now? Just logged in to do my regular, weekly shop and found there are NO available delivery slots tomorrow aside from 9PM!!!"
And at Ocado someone said: "@Ocado there are no delivery slots for Monday, or Tuesday or Wednesday in North Herts. Is there a problem?"
With another writing: "@Ocado laid up in bed with back spasms and your nearest slot is next Friday!!! Christmas isn’t this bad."
The Sun has put this to all the supermarkets mentioned and we'll update this story if we get a response.
But Ocado has already admitted it's facing “exceptionally high demand” with "more people than usual... placing particularly large orders" leading to delivery slots selling out "quicker than expected".
While Morrisons admits "you may need to book your slot further in advance than usual, and you will also discover that there is a maximum order number on selected products".
'I've never had so many substitutions in my life'
It comes as some supermarkets have also been rationing what shoppers can buy in store with Tesco even placing limits on pasta and long-life milk.
And it seems online orders have also taken a hit with shoppers complaining many items they ordered haven't arrived, or they've have lots substituted for other items.
One person tweeted: "Geeze people, calm the f**k down. I've never had as many substitutions on my @sainsburys delivery as I've had this morning.
"Even at Xmas there were only a couple. See when you're running about stock piling s**t, have a think about those who also need every day things too!"
More on coronavirus
Another Sainsbury's shopper wrote: "Grocery shopping ordered March 5 for delivery today... @sainsburys can't find one medium pack of loo roll. 15 changes in total or options not available. #panickbuying"
Someone else added: "Just put my weekly order on. No toilet roll, no hand-wash, ordered a pack of soap I'm not expecting to get, no baby wipes, no washing up liquid.
"Hopefully [it will] calm down once everyone has a shop full of supplies. Should be a fun delivery @Morrisons."