Customers are opting to stay safe at home during the COVID-19 health crisis and so getting an online grocery delivery slot these days, feels like winning the lottery.
With Passover this week and Easter coming up, grocery chains are seeing a surge in online orders.
"We are at max capacity. I will tell you since the pandemic started until probably the end of today, we will have seen about a 350 percent increase in demand in online orders," said James Hyland, VP Communications & Public Affairs for Roundy's.
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Roundy's operates 106 stores in Wisconsin including Pick-n-save and Metro Market in southeast Wisconsin.
Hyland said the dramatic online ordering demand has led to longer wait times for customers.
"The window originally before the pandemic was about a 4-hour window between the time of placing the order and the time of picking it up. On average though all of our stores in Wisconsin, it's about 72 hours now," Hyland continued.
It's not just Roundy's stores inundated with online orders.
On April 10, TMJ4 News attempted to place an order for curbside pickup for groceries at a Sendik's in Waukesha county. The available days were April 23 and April 24.
A Meijer spokesperson emailed us the below statement:
"Like many retailers, we've seen demand for home delivery and pickup increase dramatically, so available times over the past few weeks have filled up quickly. We are doing our best to manage the need for our customers. When ordering on Meijer.com, customers who are having issues scheduling delivery can keep their carts saved and check back through the day as additional time slots become available."
Hyland said Roundy's stores are adding more staff to keep up with the constant orders. While the demand is good for these grocery stores' bottom lines, he said panic buying isn't good for anyone.
"The challenge here is to keep the shelves stocked. We ask people to shop responsibly and not stockpile because that creates gaps in the supply chain," he said.