Tips for Navigating Grocery Shopping in the New Normal

The coronavirus pandemic has turned the world upside down, but some things have not changed.
People still must go to the grocery store. Shopping now, though, is different than before.
Following a few simple tips will make shopping in the new normal more manageable.

1. Plan Ahead
   In these difficult financial times, minimizing shopping trips is a sound economic move. Less trips to the store mean less gas to purchase and less wear and tear on your car. It also means less opportunities for impulse purchases. Planning meals in advance gives you a grasp of what you will need, allowing items to be bought in one trip instead of several.
   Waiting to buy an item until you are out of it can be risky. Some items, such as cleaning supplies and toilet paper, are in short supply. The time to find out the shelves have been wiped clean of toilet paper is not when you have none left back home. Purchase replacement items far enough ahead so it is not a crisis if you cannot find them.
2. Shop Less Often
   Grocery stores are currently some of the busiest places. Being around other shoppers increases the risk of coronavirus transmittal. Thus, it makes sense to lessen your exposure. Try reducing the number of regular trips you make to the store. If you routinely shop weekly, consider switching to shopping every other week instead.
3. Make a Grocery List
   Making a grocery list has always been a good idea to make sure you buy all you need. But an added benefit to making a list in today’s environment is that you can get in and out of the store quicker. There will be no need to stand, scratch your head, and ponder what you are forgetting.
   You will not have to wander up and down the aisles trying to figure out what it is you need. Less time in the store means less exposure to others and less likelihood of contracting the coronavirus.
4. Go When You Are Not in a Hurry
   Social distancing is key, and nowhere is that practice more important than in a busy grocery store. If pressed for time while shopping, you are likely to want to crowd the person in front of you who is pushing their cart at a snail’s pace. If time is an issue, you will want to reach past a dawdling shopper to grab the item you want. These actions may help your timetable, but they will break the social distancing rule and put your health at risk.
5. Be Prepared
   Grocery stores now require shoppers to wear face masks. Be prepared for shopping by keeping a mask in your car. Who hasn’t left the house to go shopping and then found out they’d left their grocery list at home? You may be able to shop without your grocery list, but can’t even enter the store without a mask. Having a mask in your car also allows for unplanned stops at the grocery store.
6. Pay Attention
   Signs on grocery store doors provide shoppers with key details, so pay attention to them. Store hours may have changed to accommodate in-depth cleaning. Special hours may be allotted for seniors only. One-way aisles may now be used requiring you to maneuver through the store’s layout differently. Knowing this information will avoid annoyances during your shopping trip, such as getting cold stares from other shoppers when you push your cart the wrong way down a
   one-way aisle.
7. Shop Without Small Children
   If possible, don’t bring young kids to the grocery store. Their presence will lengthen the time of the shopping trip. There will be the inevitable bathroom trips, stops to haggle over whether sugary cereal can be added to the cart, and searching the aisles to locate where little Johnny has chosen to play hide and seek because he’s bored.
   Young kids also cannot keep their hands to themselves. They will want to “help” you shop, thereby touching numerous items. Then they will touch their faces and you. They are spreading germs from other shoppers to you and leaving germs to be picked up by other shoppers.
   Grocery shopping during the new normal is different and challenging. But following some common sense tips, such as shopping less often, leaving small children at home, and making a list, can make navigating the activity safer, more productive, and easier.