Why Woolworths, Coles and Aldi shelves across Sydney are looking bare

Frustrated shoppers took to social media to complain about all the empty shelves at their local supermarket - but panic buying isn’t to blame.

Empty supermarket shelves are greeting customers at NSW stores in what is a flow-on effect of the state’s ongoing coronavirus lockdown.

Over the weekend, as the state entered its 11th week of lockdown, frustrated shoppers at Woolworths, Coles and Aldi stores in Greater Sydney took to social media to share pictures of seriously depleted shopping aisles.

Photos show the fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and bakery sections all looking a little bare.

However, the sad-looking aisles aren’t a result of panic buying.

Instead, with Covid-19 widespread in the community, increasing numbers of supermarket employees have been forced into isolation, seriously disrupting supply chains.

Woolworths currently has more than 3,300 staff members in self-isolation while Coles has just under 1800 people in quarantine.

Aldi also admitted self-isolation orders for staff were causing disruptions in the supply chain.

Hi Jon, due to a number of team members currently in isolation in Katoomba we're doing our best to ensure availability for customers and we appreciate your patience during this time. We trust you'll start to see an improvement in coming days.

— Coles Supermarkets (@Coles) September 2, 2021

Staff members that haven’t been put into quarantine are stretched thin, causing issues in the supply chain and the ability to stock shelves.

However, the retailers have assured customers that food remains plentiful – the problem is just getting it into the store.

Last week, Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths said in an email to customers that public health orders were affecting his company’s ability to stock shelves.

“Unlike 18 months ago, this is less to do with surges in customer demand (aka ‘the toilet paper wars’) and more because of the extra pressure on our Distribution Centres, with over 500 of those team members needing to self-isolate as close or casual contacts,” he explained.

He said that Woolworths staff are “feeling the impacts of Delta very directly”.

The fresh fruit section was impacted at this Woolworths store.

Customers shared their pictures online.

In a statement to news.com.au on Monday, a Woolworths spokesperson added: “Due to pressure on our NSW supply chain, we’ve experienced some disruptions to our scheduled store deliveries across Greater Sydney.”

They expect stock levels “to improve in coming days” as staff members begin to be cleared and release from isolation.

Woolworths is also prioritising close to one million online customers registered for priority assistance, who are either in mandatory isolation or considered vulnerable.

It’s affecting stores across the state.

Woolworths has 3,300 staff currently in self-isolation.

Coles also sent a similar email to customers last week explaining and said it was still an issue as of Monday.

“In playing our part to help protect the community, a number of our team members are currently in self isolation to reduce the spread of COVID-19,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.

“As a result, we are experiencing reduced product availability in stores and online. We want to assure our customers that we have sufficient stock available in our network, and we are working hard to get these products out to stores as quickly and safely as possible.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause and ask for our customers for their patience as we work around the clock to restock our shelves. We appreciate our customers for their understanding and for treating our team members with respect as we work through this challenging time together.”

Coles has also been impacted.

Coles issued an apology to customers via email.

An Aldi spokesperson also confirmed that their workers were having the same difficulties.

“Some employees across the Aldi network, both in store and in distribution centres, have been required to self-isolate due to being in close or casual contact to positive Covid-19 cases,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.

This requirement to isolate puts additional pressure on our internal supply chain, and on some occasions makes it a challenge to operate at full capacity. We will continue to do our best to minimise disruption to our customers.”

It comes as Australia Post is also experiencing shortages and delays, amid record demand and limited staff.

In an attempt to clear the backlog, they announced a three-day pause on all deliveries, which started on Saturday and is due to end at 7am on Tuesday.