Supermarket food limits mean families are shopping more often, but is that ideal during an Omicron outbreak?

Tuesday, 1 February 2022

Limits on some food items are forcing families to return to the supermarket after their main weekly or fortnightly shops to top up.

But despite it being normal practice when supply chain shortages hit, during an Omicron outbreak it could worsen the spread, experts say.

Christchurch mother of two teens Louisa Platt says she tries to do one large fortnightly shop at Pak ’n Save to coincide with her wages.

She generally bought the same things each shop, but had to put one of her three tins of spaghetti back on the shelf, because stock limits meant she could only buy two.

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“It wasn’t a huge deal for my family personally, but two cans of spaghetti is a bit extreme,” she said.

“I can understand restrictions but two cans of spaghetti for any sized family is not that fair.”

Platt said she asked a staff member how larger families deal with the restrictions, and the woman replied, “they just keep coming back”.

Foodstuffs spokeswoman Emma Wooster said gaps on the shelves and queues at the supermarket could be caused by shoppers buying more than was needed.

Foodstuffs owns the Pak ’n Save and New World supermarket brands.

“Stores may place limits on certain items to ensure there is fair opportunity for everyone when they shop with us, this will be on a store-by-store basis, depending on customer demand,” Wooster said.

Countdown spokeswoman Kiri Hannifin said the supermarket did not imposeproduct limits.

“We don’t need limits at the moment but it’s something we keep an eye on. We can switch limits on very quickly,” Hannifin said.

“If we see disruptions to food supply due to large scale [absence] like what happened in Australia, we may need to, but this isn’t necessary at the moment.”

Consumer NZ spokeswoman Raksha Nand said supermarkets could impose limits to ensure goods were fairly distributed.

“This is particularly important in the case of supply shortages,” Nand said.

Shoppers could ask if an exception could be made if it was not convenient to return for a top-up shop.

“Customers should also consider shopping at a secondary supermarket on the same day to fill up on items that they missed out on.”

Ekant Veer, marketing professor at the University of Canterbury, said research showed consumer loyalty took a “huge hit in the minds of consumers when stock isn’t available”, which sent customers to other stores or competing brands, and a loss of revenue for the supermarket.

As a result, from a marketing perspective, supermarkets win with the “limit to two per customer” rule, Veer said.

“It makes sure that more people get a few items they need, which avoids stock-outs. It encourages people to come back more often, so you get people regularly in the store, and people will get other things whilst getting essentials, and it makes the supermarkets look like the ‘good guys’ because they are on the side of social justice, making products available to a wider number of people.”

Associate professor of Epidemiology at University of Canterbury Dr Arindam Busu said the more visits to a place that was crowded, such as a supermarket, the higher the risk was of spreading Omicron.

“If the marketing strategy of a store results in creating this situation, this might contribute to the faster spread,” he said.

“However, this is a consideration only​ from a public health perspective, this does not take into account issues around supply chain and logistics.”