Tesco, the UK's largest grocer, has begun restricting sales of essential food and household items as a result of coronavirus stockpiling. Shoppers are limited to buying no more than five of certain goods, including antibacterial gels, wipes and sprays, dry pasta, UHT milk and some tinned vegetables. The rules apply in stores and online.According to a survey from Retail Economics, as many as one in 10 UK consumers is stockpiling, based on a sample of 2,000 shoppers. UK retailers have been warned that they face prosecution if they exploit the coronavirus scare to hike prices for products such as hand sanitisers and face masks. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has told suppliers to act responsibly and said it was monitoring pricing practices. It comes as Facebook and Amazon have cracked down on profiteers hiking prices online of face masks and hand sanitisers.
