Iceland stores across the north and north-east are changing their opening hours to allow elderly and vulnerable customers in early for essentials.
Stores in Inverness, Aberdeen, Peterhead and Fraserburgh will be operating special hours for the foreseeable future.
All will also be taking part in the special hours every Wednesday to help those customers most at need.
They will move to a 10am-6pm opening pattern, with the shops in Rose Street, Inverness and Aberdeen’s Holburn Street and Great Northern Road open from 8am-10am for elderly and vulnerable customers.
The Peterhead store will open between 9am and 11am, and the Fraserburgh store between 10am and 12pm.
Other shops, including Inverurie and Aberdeen beach will be publicising their plans in-store.
Paul Rattray, manager of the Inverness store, said members of the public who turn up during the early hours will be asked to come back to allow less-abled shoppers get what they need in a less pressured environment.
He said: “It started off with one store, one of our Northern Ireland stores had done it I believe and it gained that much traction online it got everybody else thinking why don’t we do it.
“Certainly I have seen queues and the crowds that have been coming in and particularly over the last few days, people are becoming more impatient. It can be quite intimidating for vulnerable people.
“This gives them a bit of a calm time to do this shopping in peace and it also frees us up to assist them as well.”
A spokeswoman for Iceland said: “The impact of Covid-19 continues to disrupt routines for many people and businesses, and there is widespread concern about access to food, especially for vulnerable people and the elderly.
“We are giving our store managers the flexibility to offer this wherever possible, and arrangements will be publicised in the stores that decide to take this action.”
