Warehouses and supermarkets have launched a hiring spree as the ­economy adapts to serve housebound Britons during the coronavirus crisis (The Telegraph). Demand for workers to fill jobs in supermarket warehouses has surged by a third as internet shopping booms (The Daily Mail).

Panic buying sent sales soaring by more than 50% at supermarkets last week as shoppers spooked by the coronavirus rushed out to stockpile everything from toilet roll to dried pasta. (The Daily Mail)

Supermarkets, shops and off-licences could soon run out of wine and beer amid an unprecedented demand for alcohol ahead of an anticipated Covid-19 lockdown. (The Telegraph)

Despite some empty shelves, supermarkets have wargamed this crisis, writes The Telegraph. A just-in-time supply chain and people buying more - but not stockpiling - has led to empty shelves, but chains say they can cope. (The Telegraph)

Morrisons, Iceland, Sainsbury’s and Aldi are to install thousands of protective screens at checkouts to keep staff safe as concerns grow about their wellbeing while dealing with hundreds of customers a day during the coronavirus outbreak. (The Guardian)

Shares in some of the biggest High Street names slumped as they shut stores to protect staff and customers from coronavirus. (The Daily Mail)

McDonald’s was among the companies taking action, as industry figures published by Springboard revealed a 21.7% collapse in visits to the shops last week based on the previous seven days. (Sky News)

Greggs has become the latest food retailer to say it will close its shops temporarily to help fight coronavirus. (The BBC)

The struggling Eat sandwich chain will disappear permanently from the UK high street after its owners, Pret Manger, closed the doors of its remaining 90 branches. (The Guardian)

Burger King, Carluccio’s and Yo! Sushi are among hundreds of businesses in the UK planning to withhold rents this week as they battle to conserve cash to survive the coronavirus outbreak. (The Financial Times £)

Businesses will be able to pay no rent for the next three months without forfeiting their leases in a government move that will be a lifeline for some companies but could have huge ramifications for landlords. (The Times £)

UK food wholesalers are scrambling to set up operations to sell direct to consumers as revenues from their traditional customers in the restaurant and catering trade dry up. Bidfood, one of the largest suppliers of fresh and chilled food to the catering industry, has established a direct-to-consumer option on its website. (The Financial Times £)

Payment providers across the UK have upped their contactless payment limits from £30 to £45 in an effort to help customers cut down on cash usage (The Daily Mail). The contactless payment limit is to rise as supermarkets and convenience stores move to keep staff and customers as safe as possible amid lockdown conditions across the UK (Sky News).

The founder of Deliveroo has urged Boris Johnson to relieve the pressure on Britain’s supermarkets by launching an information campaign to promote the safety of restaurant food as thousands of outlets face insolvency. (Sky News)

Deliveroo will begin delivering a range of Marks & Spencer groceries to help people isolating in their homes. The takeaway delivery service has signed a deal with BP and M&S that is designed to help families who are unable to buy essential items from local stores. (The Times £)

With pubs and restaurants told to shut their doors for the foreseeable future, meals out are off the table for the time being — but rather than using the time in isolation to hone our skills in the kitchen, it seems that a lot of us are adding the local takeaway on speed dial. An obvious beneficiary of this switch to delivery is Domino’s Pizza, which was one of just a handful of risers among London’s bigger companies yesterday. (The Times £)

The owner of Primark defended its treatment of suppliers yesterday as it warned that it would take a hit of hundreds of millions of pounds a month after the coronavirus pandemic forced the fashion chain to close its doors. (The Times £)

As coronavirus spreads in the US, many people are stockpiling essentials for what they believe will be periods of home confinement and panicked shoppers have stripped many US grocery stores of staples ranging from bread and milk to meat and toilet paper. (The Guardian)

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