The busiest and quietest supermarket times and how to avoid long queues at Asda, Sainsburys, Morrisons and Tesco in Sunderland

Compared to when the virus first started to reach UK shores last month, the majority of food and amenities are well stocked.

Often the longest queues outside supermarkets in the city are in the morning – after dedicated shopping times for NHS and emergency service workers.

Pictures from across the region show the majority of customers waiting, two metres apart, patiently to shop for their essentials.

But as opening hours are extended again - Aldi is among stores that has pushed its opening hours back to 10pm after it had previously been moved forwards -there is a trick customers can try to avoid long queues.

Google uses customer data to determine how busy each individual store is.

Shopping habits have changed considerably since the coronavirus outbreak but the live times, highlighted in pink, will give a good indication of how busy each is right now.

The blue graph shows an average of how busy the store is at different times – though this includes data from before the lockdown restrictions were imposed.

Here is a rough guide as to when supermarkets in Sunderland are at their busiest:

Sainsbury’s:

Silksworth – Mornings are busier at the moment but there is a steady flow of people throughout most weekdays. Figures show the busiest days tend to be Saturday and Sunday.

Fullwell – This store tends to be busier on an evening and Friday and Saturday’s see the highest footfall on average.

Wessington Way – Peak times are usually between 12pm and 1.30pm. The quietest day on average is Wednesday.

Asda

Leechmere Road – The store is busiest between Friday and Monday. Peak times change daily although the majority are before 11am.

Portsmouth Road, Pennywell – Busiest on Tuesdays, Fridays and the weekend, the store usually sees peak times between 12pm and 6pm.

Ryhope – The store has been busier on a morning recently compared to its average. Tuesdays and Fridays see the largest footfall.

Washington Galleries – The store is at it’s busiest leading up to midday. Tuesday and Saturdays are the busier days.

Morrisons

William Doxford Centre – The store is busiest on a Friday and Saturday. Peak times range daily between 10am and 5pm.

Whitburn Road – The weekends are normally the busiest days and peak times range between 11am and 5pm.

Tesco

Sunderland Retail Park – Wednesday is the quietest day. The store tends to be busier in the morning and early afternoon.