Supermarket giants Asda and Sainsbury's have increased the cost of home deliveries during lockdown.
The move from the supermarket giants comes amid a fear of panic-buying this Christmas after shelves were stripped bear of essentials during the first lockdown.
Aldi and Sainsbury's, part of the UK's so-called big four and rivalled by Morrisons and Tesco, operate a number of stores across the South West, Birmingham Live reports.
A return to the tier system from December 2 will see supermarkets under additional pressure running up to December 25, Christmas Day.
Asda is now charging customers an extra £1 for the supermarket's most expensive delivery slots and vulnerable shoppers will also have to start paying for deliveries.
Sainsbury's has quadrupled the cost of its cheapest one-hour delivery slot to £2.
One person on social media said: "I have booked a delivery for my parents for 50p on Tuesday pm since shielding began. This now costs £4. Is this right? They cannot have a 4hr slot as they have carers in at specific times. 800% increase in price?!"
A second added: "I tried to book my regular paid slot or close yesterday and there were fewer. Many of the slots were now £4. I had to go for a later evening slot which makes life more challenging for me as a priority customer."
An Asda customer said: "Nice to see that @Asda are cashing in on #lockdown2uk by increasing the price of my regular delivery slot by 15%! @AsdaServiceTeam it’s great to see you doing your bit to help out in difficult times! #ThatsAsdaPrice#SaveMoneyLiveBetter "
