The Carrefour website has taken an unexpected measure, and its online supermarket incorporates a virtual queue to make the purchase, which puts us on a waiting list before allowing us to choose the products and pay for the order.
The confinement due to the COVID-19 epidemic has caused many people decide to order their purchases at home through the Internet, which that has saturated the online supermarket, both Carrefour and other chains in Spain.
Although the delay in shipping was the norm until now (with a 10-day lead time), Carrefour has also imposed restrictions when entering its website. And it is that online supermarkets are not sized for the current high level of orders.
The problem does not seem to be just the lack of delivery people, the same website indicates that: "We are giving access to the supermarket through this waiting list so that it is easier for you to order inside the store."
Other sections of the Carrefour website are slow, but they do not require us to queue when buying: technology, toys, furniture, clothing… work with apparent normality.
It is very doubtful that Carrefour has prioritized the less important sections at this time, and rather it is possible to think that its internal functioning is independent.
In fact, the Carrefour supermarket section has always worked separately from the rest. While standard items are usually sent by normal courier, in the case of food, drinks, cleaning and hygiene are brought by our own employees from the hypermarket closest to the client.
The queue to enter the web is probably due to the fact that the systems that control this section have been overloaded far beyond assumable.
And it is that when buying in the supermarket other variables that must be processed come into play, such as the stock of the products or the availability in the zip code of each buyer, in addition to the delivery schedules.
Of course, the queue is unique for the entire Carrefour website in Spain, logging in with a specific postal code does not change the wait time.
Finally, Carrefour will give priority to purchases by those over 65 (most affected by COVID-19) and also to the disabled.
We already present you the 10 main websites to make purchases online, although in this exceptional situation all are suffering from high pressure.
In general, it would be advisable that we avoid saturating online supermarkets if we do not belong to the highest risk groups, then the queue to buy In physical stores it is usually much lower, and it is considered safe to do so if we take the hygiene measures indicated by the authorities.
Do you spend a lot of time waiting in line at Carrefour? Are you going to choose another alternative?
