E-supermarket struggle with demand surge

Online supermarkets are currently so inundated with orders that deliveries can take up to a week.

As e-supermarket visitor numbers were low - albeit growing - before the coronavirus epidemic hit, most didn't have the necessary infrastructure to deal with a threefold increase in orders in just a few days. The demand for storage space and delivery vehicles has shot up.

After placing orders at the five major online supermarkets (AB, Mymarket, Kritikos Easy, Caremarket and e-fresh) on Friday, Kathimerini was able to confirm that the earliest delivery date within Attica was next Wednesday, March 18; this concerned three out of the five retailers, while for the other two the orders were not deliverable before March 20 - with time restrictions too.

Some supermarkets note that deliveries could take longer than usual because of the increased demand over recent days....