KUWAIT CITY, March 23: Cooperative societies and supermarkets that operate 24 hours a day witnessed a noticeable increase in the demand for purchases, especially during the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, March 22 – the day when the partial curfew was imposed, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily toured various areas following the issuance of the decision, and discovered that the number of “midnight shoppers” in various 24-hour cooperative societies and supermarkets increased significantly, compared to the average daily shoppers at such time.

Shoppers – both citizens and residents – intentionally purchased huge quantities of basic materials to such an extent that two shopping carts were required to carry these items.

According to a market official, the issuance of the decision on the curfew at an early date that night was an important factor that prevented the shopping frenzy. The fl ow of shoppers was calm, which was also an important factor in reducing the number of “midnight shoppers” even though the number was expected to increase after Fajr (dawn) prayers. The situation differed relatively after the Fajr prayers, as the number of shoppers was the normal daily average.

The expected significant increase in purchases did not occur. During the early morning hours, the situation was more stable in terms of the number of shoppers, which returned to normal again.

This was possible especially with the implementation of measures set by the officials of the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies to limit the number of shoppers such that no more than 30 to 50 people are inside a market at the same time.

This resulted in the waiting line to extend outside the doors. Cooperative societies and supermarkets allocated a number of their employees to organize and limit the shoppers. Some of them were placed at the doors to count the shoppers entering and leaving the market, so that a new customer can enter after a customer exits. Other markets closed the exit door, and made the entry and exit from the same door in order to control the number of shoppers entering the market, provided that new customers enter in batches of five each time.