Yahoo Finance Coles, Woolworths limit purchases for this flu season staple
Coles and Woolworths have enforced limits on tissue purchases this week due to supply shortages.
Australia has been battling flu, COVID and other virus outbreaks due to the cold weather, which a Woolworths spokesperson said was driving up demand for tissues, throat lozenges and cold and flu tablets.
The supermarket giant said the supply of tissues had been “particularly impacted”, prompting the company to install a two-pack-per-customer limit on all tissue products Australia-wide.
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The supermarket had not yet placed a limit on medicinal products, although warned customers there may be limited availability of popular brands.
The Woolworths spokesperson advised shoppers not to change their shopping behaviour.
“We encourage everyone to continue shopping as they normally would and only buy what they need,” the spokesperson said.
During the pandemic, supply shortages of toilet paper and other goods triggered panic buying in much of the country.
Coles has also installed a two-packet-per-customer purchase limit on tissue packets, citing supply shortages as the main issue rather than higher-than-normal demand.
Demand for cold and flu medication was also at levels usually seen during winter, according to the supermarket group.
While it’s unclear how long these limits will be in place, the Coles spokesperson said the company was working with suppliers to secure more stock “as quickly as possible”.
Eggs also in short supply
Some fruit and vegetables have also been hard to come by in supermarkets recently due to bad weather and other supply issues, and now eggs have become scarce on supermarket shelves.
According to a statement issued by Woolworths last week, eggs were in short supply due to lower production on some farms.
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