Some supermarkets have banned couples and families from shopping together in a bid to limit queuing and support social distancing.
The news comes as England is plunged into a second lockdown tomorrow, with the hospitality sector and non-essential retail businesses closed until the start of December.
Sainsbury’s told customers only one adult from each household would be allowed to shop in-store, unless family or personal circumstances prevent this.
In a statement, CEO Simon Roberts said: “Where possible, we ask that you only send one adult per household when you shop with us. This will help us manage the number of people in our stores and make your shop quicker and smoother.”
Tesco asks that “only one person from each household comes in-store to do their shopping”.
Aldi also asks customers to shop alone where possible: “In order to help with social distancing, we are encouraging all customers to try and reduce the number of family members they bring with them into our stores.
“Where necessary we are using discretion, but like all supermarkets we’re asking people to come alone if possible to support social distancing in our stores.”
Waitrose also requests that their customers “help us manage the number of people in our shops by sending only one member of the household to do their shopping.”
“While this won’t be possible for everybody, we are very grateful for our customers’ support during this time of uncertainty”, their statement adds.
