Woolworths ramps up online shopping in Victoria, amid coronavirus spike

Woolworths is stepping up online shopping services in Melbourne, as a coronavirus spike also sparked panic buying.

Woolworths is ramping up deliveries in Melbourne.

Woolworths is ramping up deliveries to deal with a 40 per cent spike in online shopping following a sharp rise in coronavirus infections in Melbourne, which has also sparked some panic buying.

The resurgence in online sales follows COVID-19 flare-ups in Melbourne’s north and west, as many shoppers prefer to stay home rather than venture to crowded supermarkets.

Woolworths said as a result, it was increasing online deliveries and in-store pick ups.

The supermarket giant will add dozens of new trucks to its fleet of more than 200 Victorian delivery vehicles and hundreds of couriers from on-demand delivery partners Sherpa and Drive Yello.

All Woolworths stores in Melbourne also offer community pick up, allowing customers to place online orders and have family members, friends or neighbours collect them. For safety, both deliveries and community pick ups are contactless, with orders in reusable bags.

Woolworths director of e-commerce Annette Karantoni said: “We know this is an uncertain time for many Melburnians, and we’re moving quickly to make our online shopping services available to more customers than ever before.

“While we have healthy stock levels to draw on, we’ve taken the precautionary step of reinstating online purchase limits on select categories to ensure our customers have fair access to key essentials.

“We have more than enough product for all of our customers if we all just buy what we need in our weekly shop.”

On Wednesday, Woolworths reinstated a purchase limit of two items on toilet paper, hand sanitiser, paper towel, flour, sugar, pasta, mince, long-life milk, eggs and rice across its Victorian stores and online orders.

Coles also imposed purchase limits after a return of some panic shopping in Melbourne affected by the virus spike.