Coles and Woolworths reinstate buying limits in Victorian supermarkets

Shoppers in Melbourne have flocked to supermarkets as the city is placed into lockdown, with a customer calling it “terrifying”.

Panicked customers have rushed to Coles and Woolworths in Melbourne as lockdown measures come into force.

Just a day after they were scrapped, supermarkets have reinstated buying limits across Victoria as shoppers raid shelves.

Stores across the city were stripped bare on Tuesday night as customers made a mad rush to stock up after Premier Daniel Andrews reintroduced stage three coronavirus restrictions.

This is despite customers being allowed to shop during lockdown.

Woolworths reinstated a purchase limit of two items per customer early on Wednesday morning across 27 product categories in Victoria both in store and online.

Coles put product limits on 20 products at stores in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.

Came to pick up a few things from Woolies - massive q to get in! pic.twitter.com/zf2V7lZock

— Leo Stubbing (@LeoStubbing) July 7, 2020

Lock down is back and so is the panic buying and the long lines to enter the super market in bayside Melbourne pic.twitter.com/NKFu2IrLmt

— Chris AU (@OfficialChrisAU) July 7, 2020

If anyone in Melbourne is wondering, yes the supermarket is already a terrifying place to be

— Rosa Martorana (@RosaMartorana) July 7, 2020

Supermarket queues - Melbourne. pic.twitter.com/Ij4l1pqsdJ

— Malcolm Farnsworth (@mfarnsworth) July 7, 2020

Melburnians are rushing to supermarkets in the wake of the news of the lockdown. This is the long queue waiting to enter a @woolworths in the South-East #melbournelockdown I haven’t seen it like this all year. Shops will still be open! pic.twitter.com/kTTKSUAXN8

— Lucie Morris-Marr (@luciemorrismarr) July 7, 2020

A large queue of people waiting to get into Woolworths. Picture: Leo Stubbing

People line up outside Woolworths in Moonee Ponds in northwest Melbourne. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

The Woolworths product limits apply to:

• Frozen vegetables
• Frozen potatoes
• Frozen fruit
• Frozen fish
• Frozen poultry
• Pre-packed sausages from the meat department
• Pre-packed burger patties, rissoles and meatballs from the meat department
• Pre-packed carrots
• Pre-packed potatoes
• Chilled fresh milk
• Sliced bread loaves from the bakery department
• Frozen pizza
• Frozen party snacks
• Frozen meals
• Frozen seafood
• Chilled juice
• Pre-packed bacon
• Tissues
• Dry pasta
• Eggs
• Flour
• Hand sanitiser
• Long life milk
• Mince
• Paper towel
• Rice
• Sugar
• The existing limit of two toilet roll packs per customers remains in place in Victoria and all other states and territories.

The Coles two-pack limits apply to:

• Chicken breast
• Hand sanitiser
• Chicken Thigh
• Liquid soaps
• Chilled pasta
• Long-life milk
• Eggs
• Mince meat
• Flour
• Paper towels
• Fresh white milk
• Pasta
• Frozen chips
• Rice
• Frozen desserts
• Sugar
• Frozen fruit
• Tissues
• Frozen vegetables.

Coles also has a one-pack limit on toilet paper.

Coles chief executive Steven Cain said while it was disappointing to reinstate purchase limits, it was an important measure to help manage demand for staple items at a critical time for many customers in Victoria.

“Our thoughts are with the many Victorians who will now be required to isolate at home, and we will continue to work with the state government to provide whatever assistance they need,” Mr Cain said.

“To help provide a safer shopping experience in our stores, we would ask that customers continue to treat our team members with respect, observe social distancing in stores, make use of the sanitising stations at the entrance, and plan their visit so they can be ‘speedy shoppers’.”

Supermarkets have done another backflip on buying limits with Coles and Woolworths now reintroducing buying restrictions across Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

A Woolworths spokesman said the move followed a surge in demand across Victoria overnight and would help ensure more customers had fair access to fresh food and essentials at Woolworths.

“All Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria will remain open throughout the next six weeks of stage three restrictions just as they did earlier this year,” they said.

“We have more than enough stock flowing from our distribution centres into stores to support all our customers’ food and grocery needs. We encourage our customers to continue shopping as they usually would.”