How shopping at Asda, Morrisons, Tesco will change in Sheffield after new Covid measures

The Government’s decision to tighten lockdown restrictions in an attempt to slow the spread of Covid-19 could impact people’s shopping habits once more as some retailers reintroduce store safety measures and warn against panic-buying.

Boris Johnson revealed that shop workers must wear masks while at work, despite them being previously exempt from the mandatory rule.

Fines for customers and staff not wearing a face covering will increase to £200.

Supermarket giant Asda has confirmed that they will introduce 1,000 new coronavirus marshals on the doors of its stores to enforce the new restrictions and ensure customers are wearing masks properly.

Competitor Morrisons has followed suit and also reinstated coronavirus wardens at the entrance of its supermarkets to make sure the rules are being followed.

There will be limited numbers of shoppers in stores at Tesco and Sainsbury’s, where people are made to queue in a line outside while maintaining social distancing as they wait to be allowed into the supermarket.

Customers have been encouraged to be considerate of others and “shop as you normally would” by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), after pictures of empty shelves of loo-roll appeared on social media on Monday.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis stressed the supermarket had not yet experienced any shortages due to the new restrictions and told Sky News the chain had “very good supplies of food.”

He said: “We just don’t want to see a return to unnecessary panic buying because that creates a tension in the supply chain that’s not necessary.

"And therefore we would just encourage customers to continue to buy as normal.”

The demand for online shopping surged at the start of lockdown in March when shoppers were told to stay at home to slow the spread of Covid-19 and grocers expanded their online operations to cope with the increase.

Director of food and sustainability at the BRC, Andrew Opie said retailers will remain a “safe space”, even if more restirctions are enforced.

“Supply chains are stronger than ever before and we do not anticipate any issues in the availability of food or other goods under any future lockdown,” he added.

The 10pm curfew for bars, pubs and restaurants that was introduced by the Prime Minister on Tuesday does not affect supermarkets or convenience stores.

But some analysts have suggested the decision to close eateries earlier and a potential decline in the number of commuters are people were told to work from home if they can, could increase supermarket demand.

Clive Black and Darren Shirley at Shore Capital said the new guidance could result in a “step back” in the recovery of food-to-go specialists, which would prove a “hammer-blow” to the likes of Greggs and Pret A Manger.

They said “demand for grocery retail is likely to be boosted once again” as more meals are eaten at home.

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