MONTREAL -- With many Montrealers avoiding grocery stores, some stores' websites have been overloaded by demand, frustrating customers.
Supermarche PA spokesperson Lucy Di Santis said online demand has skyrocketed as people avoid shopping in-person because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Definitely a lot of people are scared to leave the house,” she said. “A lot of people are not able to leave the house and a lot of people are seniors that are definitely not able to leave the house.”
De Santis said traffic on the company's website has quintupled over the last two weeks, leaving them overwhelmed trying to fill delivery orders.
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According to Walmart Canada, the company is delivering four times their usual amount of groceries. Ordering on the IGA website requires long wait times and the wait time for delivery from some Metro stores can be as long as a week.
De Santis said one of the biggest challenges for grocers is finding staff to work overnight shifts to fill online orders.
In a statement, Metro said they are working to increase the capacity of their online store, including hiring additional staff.
“We ask our customers to use this service responsibly and to leave the service to those who cannot get to the store,” they said.
Walmart Canada spokesperson Alexis Lanternier said the company is trying to hire 10,000 people in part to fill online orders.
“A lot of them will help especially with online, especially the online grocery business where we've seen the biggest spike in demand,” she said.
