Spinneys to take orders over email for customers older than 60 in Dubai

The supermarket chain has introduced the service ahead of launching online shopping

Spinneys has introduced a new email-ordering service for shoppers over the age of 60. Chris Whiteoak / The National

You might not yet be able to order your Spinneys groceries online, but the company has introduced a new service for shoppers who cannot access its Dubai supermarkets.

As part of government regulations introduced to limit the spread of Covid-19, customers over the age of 60 or children under the age of 12 cannot enter malls, supermarkets or shops in the UAE.

To help customers get hold of essential groceries, Spinneys has launched a new email-ordering service for shoppers over the age threshold, it revealed this week.

"As a result of age restrictions, we have introduced a special assisted service for our loyal customers over 60 whilst we work to get our e-commerce system live," the supermarket chain, which does not currently offer online delivery, posted on social media.

To use the new service, customers must email their shopping lists to [e-mail], while also including their name, contact number, preferred store for collection and preferred collection time.

"It would be helpful if you could mention the brand and size of the products you need," Spinneys added.

A member of the supermarket's in-store team will then contact customers when their orders are available for collection.

While the service is currently limited to shoppers over the age of 60, the supermarket group told commenters on Instagram that an "e-commerce portal shall be launching very soon".

When announcing the rules limiting access to malls and supermarkets for the over-60s earlier this month, the Ministry of Health and the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority said precautions were taken "to ensure their health and safety".

The government has set out various fines for members of the public and retailers who ignore such rules.