Will the coronavirus change the way you food shop, for good ?

MrsStepford

Before coronavirus, I used a variety of shops and delivery services including Abel & Cole, ASDA, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado and Sainsbury's. The two I used the most (both since 2012) were Abel & Cole and Ocado and they let me down the most. My regular order for milk and eggs disappeared completely from Abel & Cole on 16th March and I spent many hours (even as an Anytime Smartpass customer) trying to get a slot from Ocado without success. It took about five emails to Ocado before I got a refund out of them for my Smartpass, and then only May - August not March - August. Abel & Cole finally got eggs this week. 


In the mean time. Iceland was brilliant, I got every slot I wanted. Morrisons was pretty good too. Lots of things missing from both but that was to be expected. 


Luckily, though I hadn't used the website since 2017, Riverford recognised me and I was able to get a limited supply of eggs and milk and fruit & veg. I discovered Watts Farms via Twitter and although not organic, their veg is amazing and so much cheaper than the prices I was used to. I tried a lot of delis, butchers and farms and discovered new things, like delicious Pergale Lithuanian hazelnut chocolate, Latvian smoked sprats in olive oil and gluten free black pudding from Scotland. One of my discoveries were duck eggs which I now prefer. 


One of my mother's friends has switched from Waitrose to Morrisons and loves it. My mother has switched from Sainsbury's to a village shop and a farm shop, and is getting milk from another local farm. She's had fish and potato deliveries from nearest town, too. 

I'm sure that a lot of people will stick with their old food suppliers, but I wondered whether other people, will stay with new stores and shop differently ? Or buy differently eg duck eggs, different veg, more frozen or tinned ? 

In USA, a lot of people who couldn't get veg, contacted farms, did a big wholesale order and then split it among families. Others signed up to vegbox schemes. 

So this thread is about changes you've had to make and how you think you'll shop in future. 

Farway

I second the Iceland, I was a customer anyway with a card, in store not on line

One thing I think will change is buying specialty cheeses on line, before it was mooch around to see what there was, but having sampled some  of the smaller producer stuff from online I think I'll continue. Not saving money but something I can afford

Bacman

Until things are totally back to normal i'm just using online shopping.

Until we can go into a clothes shop and try items on before buying, we are boycotting them. Clothes are so hit and miss at the best of times, you have to try them on; until we can shop as normal I see a lot of clothing businesses going out of business. Why stand in a long queue to go into a store, have to wander about in a line and not go back when you preferred something you saw earlier in the store; have to queue for ages to buy something you don't know it it fits; then have to go back again to stand in another long queue to get a refund? What is the point? Only businesses who benefit are online companies, our retail businesses will go to the wall.

maman

Personally I have stuck with Aldi and found that they've managed the system well. So I'll keep using them. I'm fortunate in that I have been able to get out and do my own shopping (highlight of my week 😁) so have no experience of online shopping during the pandemic.
For the few (and getting fewer over time) things I can't get in Aldi I will be wary of shops that haven't managed their queuing system well. 
I know people, like OP,  who have felt let down by companies that showed them no loyalty. 
I think many people, myself included, have kept a mental blacklist of companies that have behaved badly. This includes supermarkets but also travel companies and others. 🤔☹️

suki1964

Most definitely 

Deliveries  from the big names are as rare as hens teeth here in my part of the country, I gave up trying after the first 3 weeks. Now other then a trip to lidl or Tesco , Im shopping locally and thankfully the local shops have stepped up to the plate

And as they supported me through this, I will carry on supporting them. The big stores will survive, the local individual places need all the help they can get from now on in.

I just hope that everyone feels the same as myself

od244051

Each area is different. One area, you could have lots of slots available and another, none. It depends how many supermarkets do the online shopping in your area and if these stores overlap, you can get most of them. 

I'm still undecided about if my grocery shopping will change or not. It depends on how long SD goes on for. I have been off since early March through surgery. It was a good job I always had a well stocked store cupboard and had plenty of things like loo roll, cleaning products etc in. For the rest of March (when supermarkets were depleted), I gave my mum a list of just get any veg, any fruit which I like. I made things on whatever she could get. My neighbour managed to get a tray of 36 eggs from a cafe opposite her work many cafes, restaurants were selling off their fresh stuff. The eggs were shared between her, myself and my parents. I already had an egg box in the recycling so retrieved this for easy transportation for my parents' to pick up their eggs.

Since able to drive in early April, I have been going to Lidl every week and done 2-3 visits to other supermarkets and a visit to B&M  for the odd item that Lidl don't sell plus checked out the offers/reduced sections. My mum has been buying a few bits that Lidl don't sell such as ginger ale and limescale tablets in Asda. Then as I do my shopping on Fridays, my parents ask me to get a few bits for them such as the half price chutneys the other week. 

As for clothes, I don't need anything. Good job I bought my new winter coat in 2nd half Feb. Though later on, could do with some new trainers. Problem is I need to try them on as got problem feet and I vary from a 7 to 9. Even once I had two pairs of shoes of the same style but in different colours, I had to have different sizes - half a size. To any shop that refuses me to try shoes on, I will not be buying from them until they relax this policy. Besides, how many people don't try on shoes before buying? Very few. 

KxMx

I saw a news report from a department store in Italy. Plastic socks are given to those trying on shoes and any clothing or shoes tried but not purchased are quarantined elsewhere for 72 hours. 

Back on topic, we found a sort of local butcher who delivers, meat is amazing and definitely not going back to the supermarket for that.

The vegan store supplied me with flour and other baking goods, they basically do free same day delivery and have supported the community so well. I will definitely be shopping in store with them in future.

We're both vunerable and been shopping online with Tesco for nearly two decades, do feel let down by them. Two deliveries were obtained with difficulty. They have a little more availability now and I've noticed a pattern of them releasing the majority of flexi slots late afternoon for the next day. 

Iceland stepped up to the plate and allocated us priority booking which we've never used as always been able to get a slot in the normal way with them since lockdown. 

When we haven't needed much I've been walking to local Asda which isn't somewhere we shop normally. Most of the own brand products have been excellent and in more normal times I may go occasionally. 

A._Badger

What an interesting post, thank you Mrs, Stepford!

Thinking about it, the only significant change to my shopping will be that Ocado gets the chop. I wasn't a weekly user but had been a customer on and off for some years. I found their response to CV weak, confused and rather curt in the way they addressed customers. Not once could I get a delivery from them. Loyalty is binary, so goodbye.

Morrisons got my delivery business instead, though in the end I gave up on them due to poor substitutions and the lack of any reliable way of handling them, though I will give Morrisons 8/10 for at least having slots now and then - something none of the others managed.. I'm unlikely to visit Morrisons' store, however, which is in a fairly iffy neighbourhood and was refitted a couple of years ago by a designer to whom the word claustrophobia was unknown. If you really are more likely to catch the bug in a confined space, crammed together with other people, then my local Morrisons will be a happy hunting ground for it.

What won't change is using my two local butchers, whose meat is far superior to any from a supermarket and who bravely stayed open. Also unchanging will be my weekly trip to Aldi. Returning to Aldi once the initial panic had died down was such a relief!, excellent prices, great quality, well managed stores. .

So, no real winners, save for Morrison's delivery service when needed (though they'll lose the pleasure of my company in store). and one loser - Ocado.. 

.

maman

suki1964 said:

Most definitely 

Deliveries  from the big names are as rare as hens teeth here in my part of the country, I gave up trying after the first 3 weeks. Now other then a trip to lidl or Tesco , Im shopping locally and thankfully the local shops have stepped up to the plate

And as they supported me through this, I will carry on supporting them. The big stores will survive, the local individual places need all the help they can get from now on in.

I just hope that everyone feels the same as myself

I think many people would agree with your sentiments but, for many, it'll come down to hard cash.

I'm fortunate in that I shop the mse way because I loathe being ripped off. Others are not so fortunate. There will be so many people who've found lockdown financially crippling, lost jobs etc. 

The unfortunate thing as that many people who would be able to save money by shopping in Aldi, Lidl or Iceland can't do so because they don't have transport so they are disadvantaged by shopping locally. The prices charged by some of the local shops are eye watering.

od244051

maman said:

suki1964 said:

Most definitely 

Deliveries  from the big names are as rare as hens teeth here in my part of the country, I gave up trying after the first 3 weeks. Now other then a trip to lidl or Tesco , Im shopping locally and thankfully the local shops have stepped up to the plate

And as they supported me through this, I will carry on supporting them. The big stores will survive, the local individual places need all the help they can get from now on in.

I just hope that everyone feels the same as myself

I think many people would agree with your sentiments but, for many, it'll come down to hard cash.

I'm fortunate in that I shop the mse way because I loathe being ripped off. Others are not so fortunate. There will be so many people who've found lockdown financially crippling, lost jobs etc. 

The unfortunate thing as that many people who would be able to save money by shopping in Aldi, Lidl or Iceland can't do so because they don't have transport so they are disadvantaged by shopping locally. The prices charged by some of the local shops are eye watering.

Hopefully with the support bubble in England, which you are able to go in the other household's car(s), some of these bubbles will take the household that has no car of their own to the cheaper supermarkets.  A friend of mum's is doing this. She finds getting out more difficult since her husband died 16 months ago. Doing a support bubble with her daughter's household who will take her to Aldi and Iceland which are next to each other in the next small town.

General_Grant

I don't think it will permanently change the way I shop.  I have no truly "local" shops of any kind (no longer a pub, newsagent, or hairdresser - they disappeared years ago) and have to travel into town (used to use car or take bus but do now walk in for the exercise).  Will eventually return to using the bus - grapefruit, pineapples and potatoes are heavy to carry uphill on the way home.
I would have tried online shop with Sainsbury's with whom I had registered an account but they wouldn't deliver because I wasn't on the list given to them by the Government as that was for meant for the extremely medically vulnerable and I'm simply in my mid-70s.  Though an elderly neighbour was on the list for being "borderline diabetic".  They would allow click and collect but if I've got to drive in to collect I might as well go into the store and make my own choice.  So I haven't gained the experience and won't be taking advantage of any future enticement (eg £10 off £30 spend) from Sainsbury's to make use of the service.