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A whopping 150 million pizzas were ordered by Brits during lockdown

Around 100 million meals more than normal have been delivered since the start of lockdown too.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 20th October 2020
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The world as we once knew it was flipped on its head back in March when the country was placed into lockdown amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

It’s undoubtedly true that these past few months have thrown us all some unexpected challenges and left us having to adapt to ever-changing situations, which is maybe why we’ve been craving and clinging onto the only shreds of ‘normality’ that we have left.

Maybe it’s also why it’s been revealed that Brits have ordered a whopping 150 million pizzas between March and August.

It comes as leading takeaway delivery service Just Eat has announced that orders to homes have sky-rocketed by almost 50% since March, and that around 100 million meals more than normal have been delivered. Food delivery service Deliveroo has also reported that were up by 66%, while Domino’s sold a margherita pizza every second.

Professor Joshua Bamfield – Director of the Centre for Retail Research – said: “Those extra 100 million delivery meals will be worth in the region of £1 billion.

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“That money is a lifeline for troubled restaurants.”

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While it seems that us Mancunians have opted for grabbing a fair few extra slices, the classic Italian dish wasn’t the only meal excessively ordered by Brits during lockdown, as it was also revealed that 41,000 tonnes of chips and 42 million curries ordered over the past six months too.

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Fish and chips, Thai, Japanese, pasties and even vegan dishes all made the cut too.

There was also a huge increase in the number of convenience and grocery orders – up 166% – as well as coffee orders being made, which increased by a whopping 149%.

And in what is likely to be received differently depending on who you ask, data trends have also provided an insight into the amount of food each UK region has consumed, with Mancunians coming out as the “greediest” by ordering takeaways twice as much overall as Brummies.

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Speaking on the release of the latest statistics, Andrew Kenny – Managing Director and Just Eat UK – said: “COVID restrictions have made a difference to takeaway habits.

“Customers are enjoying more of the food they love.”

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Morrisons introduces new quiet hours to make stores less ‘overwhelming’ for shoppers

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Morrisons has decided to extend its popular ‘Quieter Hour’ across the UK to help make its stores less “overwhelming” for shoppers.

Introduced earlier this month to mark World Autism Acceptance Week, and in a bid to turn what can be a daunting task for many people into “a calmer and more enjoyable experience”, the supermarket chain has announced an extension to its already popular initiative by adding new ‘Quieter Hours’ during weekday afternoons.

In case you weren’t aware, Morrisons first introduced its Quieter Hour all the way back in July 2018, and has been welcoming people who may struggle supermarket shopping environments through its doors ever since.

The initiative – which initially took place between 9am and 10am on a Saturday, and for the first hour of trade on a Sunday – originally began as part of the National Autistic Society’s ‘Autism Hour campaign’, after it was found that some neurodiverse people, including those with autism, can find shopping in a supermarket “overwhelming”.

Morrisons has introduced new quiet hours to make stores less ‘overwhelming’ for shoppers / Credit: Morrisons

Supermarkets can lead many people to experience increased sensitivity to light and sound, such as loud music, bright lights, and busy environments, and in turn, this can cause anxiety or, in some of the worst cases, even physical pain.

But now, after the trial has proved to be so successful and well-received, Morrisons has made the decision to extended the initiative to weekdays too, as well as weekends – with ‘Quieter Hours’ now also running every week from Monday to Thursday between 2-3pm.

The company says the extension is all with the aim of “helping even more customers”.

During ‘Quieter Hours’, Morrisons stores operate lower levels of lighting, turn music and radios off, avoid making tannoy announcements, reduce movement of trolleys and baskets, and turn checkout beeps and other electrical noises down.

“The weekly shop can be a daunting task for those who may struggle with noises associated with it,” commented Charlotte Exell, who is the Business Sponsor of Ability at Morrisons.

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“At Morrisons, we are always looking for more ways to support customers, and as the Quieter Hour is incredibly popular in our stores across the nation, we have listened to customers and will now help more shoppers in our extended times.”

Featured Image – Morrisons

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Freddos are on sale for 10p at UK supermarkets for the first time in nearly 20 years

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

It’s happening… it’s finally happening.

We never thought we’d see this again, but for the first time in nearly two whole decades, you can now walk into supermarkets across the UK and pick yourself up a Cadbury Freddo for the price of just 10p.

While it may sound a little too good to be true, due to the fact that the beloved chocolate treat has been creeping up in price for the past 19 years, and has very much gone onto become a classic British reference point for the state of inflation and the rising cost of living crisis, we couldn’t be happier to confirm it is.

But, of course, there is a bit of catch (because isn’t there always).

For anyone looking to get their hands on a slashed-price Freddo – which we imagine will be the vast majority of people reading this – you unfortunately won’t be able to pop into any supermarket, as the 10p offer is exclusive to Sainsbury’s and you’ll need a Nectar card to be eligible for it too.

Sainsbury’s announced the return of the 10p Freddo across its official social media platforms this morning, and as you’d expect, shoppers are absolutely losing their minds over it.

The caption of the now-viral post reads: “Some things from the mid 2000s should NEVER come back, but this is not one of them.

“Head to any Sainsbury’s superstore to pick up a Freddo for just 10p with your nectar card.”

Sadly, not only is this unmissable Freddo offer exclusive to Sainsbury’s for Nectar card-holders, it’s also only available in Sainsbury’s superstores too, meaning you won’t be able to find the cheap frog-shaped chocolate bars in little Sainsbury’s Local outlets.

The offer is also only for a very limited time too, as it’s available to make the most of from today (17 April) up until next Tuesday 23 April.

Freddos are on sale for 10p at Sainsbury’s for the first time in nearly 20 years / Credit: Sainsbury’s | The Manc Group

Thankfully, Freddos are the only chocolate treats that Sainsbury’s has slashed the price of currently.

As a way of celebrating the iconic confectionary company‘s 200th birthday this year, the supermarket has also put offers on a wide range of other products.

Dairy Milk bars, multipacks of Fudge, Curly Wurlys, and Flakes, Dairy Milk Trays, Chocolate Finger biscuits, and Mini Roll cake bars are the other much-loved Cadbury products currently on sale with up to 30% off their marked price.

Rachel Clark, who is the Director of Grocery for Sainsbury’s, said on the supermarket’s current Cadbury offers: “We’re delighted to be celebrating such an iconic moment for Cadbury, and its milestone of 200 years as a loved chocolate brand. We know that our customers love Cadbury so we’re very excited to be offering market-leading prices across selected Cadbury products, with savings of up to 60% off with Nectar Prices.”

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Keen to treat yourself to some cut-price chocolate this week then?

All existing Nectar customers need to do is scan their app or swipe their card at the Sainsbury’s checkout to save some pennies.

Featured Image – The Manc Group

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