Coronavirus: 94% of Brits support supermarket sales restrictions

• Support stood at 89% in London, compared to 96% in the rest of the south of England

• All the major supermarkets have unveiled some form of sales restrictions over the past week

An overwhelming 94% of Brits support supermarket sales restrictions in the wake of coronavirus panic.

Only 6% of the 3,294 adults surveyed by YouGov last week opposed the restrictions on popular items, which have come into force across nearly all the major supermarkets after panic buying left shelves bare.

However, there were marginal demographic differences in levels of support for the move.

Among the over-65s, 99% were in favour of the restrictions. However, that support lessened among younger consumers, falling to 89% among 18 to 24-year-olds.

The capital was also least likely to welcome the restrictions. Support stood at 89% in London, compared to 96% in the rest of the south of England.

All the major supermarkets have unveiled some form of sales restrictions over the past week to maintain availability of popular items. Tesco and Asda have limited sales of each line to a maximum of three per customer. Sainsbury’s has done the same on the majority of its grocery items, but more popular items such as soap and toilet roll are limited to two per customer.