Melbourne Bunnings stores brace for huge shopper demand

As Kmart saw an unprecedented wave of shoppers in Melbourne overnight, Bunnings has taken drastic steps to keep up with demand.

Kmart isn’t the only Melbourne retailer bracing for a wave of cooped-up shoppers to hit stores as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

Bunnings outlets in Melbourne have already taken drastic steps to meet consumer demand, introducing extended retail trading hours from 6.30am to 9pm every day for at least the next fortnight.

While Bunnings does not have an online booking system like Kmart in place where customers can book a timeslot to shop, store staff will use an app to monitor how many shoppers are allowed into stores at any given time.

Barricades and traffic cones are also being used outside stores to help control the crowds of queuing customers expected to rock up to the hardware giant over the next few weeks.

Bunnings general manager Ryan Baker thanked customers for “their patience as our teams work to help everyone with advice and materials”.

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Metal barricades are being set up to control customer flow at Melbourne’s Caroline Springs store. Picture: Supplied

“We’ve already seen a steady flow of customers coming through our doors and we do expect our stores to get busy as the day progresses,” he said in a statement.

Mr Baker advised customers to plan their Bunnings visits ahead of time when they could.

“We know customers have lots of items on their shopping lists and we’re encouraging them to plan ahead and to use our Product Finder App to make their visits more efficient,” he said.

Despite the crowds, Mr Baker said it was an “amazing feeling” having customers back in Melbourne stores for the first time in almost three months today.

“It’s been great helping customers with online orders during lockdown but serving customers in-store is what we really love,” he said.

“Seeing how happy customers are today has made it really special.”

Bunnings has several COVID-19 safe procedures in place to help keep staff and customers safe, including limiting the number of customers allowed into busy aisles.

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As well as extending store hours, Bunnings has put up traffic cones for expected queues. Picture: Twitter/@arlaughton

A sign in Bunnings, Port Melbourne. Picture: Supplied

Customers are also encouraged to use tap and go whenever possible and follow physical distancing measures in stores.

On Monday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced retail stores would be allowed to reopen from midnight on Tuesday after it was shuttered under stage 4 restrictions.

Excited Kmart customers couldn’t wait until morning to hit stores, lining up so they could enter branches with 24 hour trading times at the stroke of midnight.

But the decision of some to hit the shops hard at the first opportunity has been criticised by other Melburnians who labelled them “selfish”.

“Are people seriously going to Kmart at midnight, just because they can??” one person tweeted.

“This kind of crap will have us seeing a third wave in no time.”