Tissues fly off Coles, Woolworths and Aldi supermarket shelves

First it was toilet paper — now Australian supermarkets are facing a massive rush for another popular household item as Covid-19 and the flu continue to spread.

Tissues have become the new toilet paper.

Major retailers Woolworths, Coles and Aldi Australia have confirmed they have experienced shortages of tissues as demand for the item soars as Covid-19 and Influenza infections continue to spread.

Many popular brands of tissues are listed as temporarily out of stock online on Woolworths and Coles’ webistes, while shoppers on social media have also noted seeing a lack of tissues, Panadol, anti-bacterial wipes and other cold and flu products.

Woolworths confirmed it has seen increased demand from shoppers on cold and flu tablets and throat lozenges, which has put more pressure on its supply chains.

Empty shelves and labels showing tissues are in short supply at Coles and Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

Tissues out of stock at Coles' website. Picture: Supplied

Tissues out of stock at Woolworths' website. Picture: Supplied

“Given the recent cold snap and early start to the flu season, there’s quite a lot of demand for a range of medicinal and paper goods products including cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges and tissues,” a Woolworths spokesman said.

Empty shelves and labels showing tissues are in short supply at Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

“While customers might notice that the availability of some of their preferred brands might be limited, we continue to offer a wide range of alternatives across these ranges.

Empty shelves and labels showing tissues are in short supply at Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

“We’ll continue to work closely with our suppliers.”

Coles recognised customers may not be able to get their preferred brand of tissues due to high demand, but assured them there was enough supply.

Empty shelves and labels showing tissues are in short supply at Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

Tissues out of stock at Woolworths' website. Picture: Supplied

Tissues out of stock at Woolworths' website. Picture: Supplied

Tissues out of stock at Woolworths' website. Picture: Supplied

“Customers may notice that some stores might not have their usual brands of facial tissues in stock at the moment,” a spokesperson said.

“We want to assure customers that there will be enough stock to get them through this flu season, and encourage them to be flexible if the products they would usually purchase are not available.”

I thought, "there's a cold going around" was just a thing people said, but when I went to woolies for tissues and panadol, both sections were almost entirely empty 🤯🤧

— Ricardo Enrique (@ricardo3nrique) June 9, 2022

Can I ask, do you not do the 4 ply anymore as it is some weeks since I have been able to purchase. Also, the tissues seem to be in short supply at Coles

— Sally Burke (@SallyBurke12) June 14, 2022

It comes as Coles’ General Manager of Produce Craig Taylor penned a note to customers by email on Tuesday night, informing them of more fruit and vegetable shortages.

“In addition to the devastating floods earlier this year, the ongoing heavy rainfall, recent cold weather and lower levels of sunlight have meant many of our Australian growers are experiencing impacts to the supply of berries, lettuce, beans, tomatoes, broccoli and herbs,” he wrote.

“Our growers expect to be able to deliver increased volumes of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, fresh herbs, beans and tomatoes starting in a few weeks’ time.

“Some vegetables including broccoli, broccolini and lettuce will take a bit longer to recover after key growing regions were hit with heavy rains, but supplies are expected to begin improving over the next month before returning to full supply.”

But Mr Taylor said pumpkins, avocados, bananas, navel oranges, apples and pears are still in good supply.

Like its supermarket rivals, ALDI Australia has experienced issues with paper products being in shorter supply because of ongoing supply chain issues and absenteeism of workers linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This has affected the supply of paper-based items like tissues.

It is understood this should be rectified over the next few weeks.

There are no product buying limits being imposed at any of the supermarkets at this time.

Other retailers including Chemist Warehouse, Costco, Officeworks and Amazon still appeared to still have tissues in stock online.

Originally published as Tissues fly off Coles, Woolworths and Aldi supermarket shelves