Is It Time To Get Rid of One-Way Grocery Store Aisles?

Grocery stores still have signs forbidding customers from walking down aisles in the wrong direction, but are they actually doing any good?

As we deal with a global pandemic, It's been in everyone's best interest to just follow the rules, stay healthy and get through the day. While most of the people I encounter are happy to wear masks, social distance and submit themselves to temperatures scans, one rule has been widely ignored; the one-way supermarket aisle.

I've been religiously following those signs on the grocery store floor since April, but no one else seems to even notice them. Having to go up an entire aisle and come back just to grab a bottle of ketchup is a pain, So you can imagine my frustration when I finally turn down the aisle and pass three other shoppers heading in the wrong direction, completely oblivious to the one-way signs on the floor.

This weekend I was in the grocery store before 9am to pick up just a few items. With empty aisles everywhere I decided to be a rebel and go down the wrong way for just a second to grab a bag of rolls. But just as I thought I got away with it, a shopper came around the corner and caught me exiting from the wrong end. He grunted through his mask, pointed to the sign on the ground  and rolled his eyes. Yes, I deserved it. I broke the rules. But was any harm actually done?

While I understand having one-way aisles in small, cramped stores is necessary to keep everyone comfortable and safe, it really makes no sense when there are huge frozen food aisles that could easily fit two ways of traffic while still maintaining proper social distance. And what's the point if everyone is just disobeying the rule anyway? Perhaps it's time for stores to re-assess their one-way aisles and ease restrictions a bit in larger stores where the rule isn't actually necessary.

Do you find yourself getting frustrated at people who don't follow the one-way rule? Or are you one of those people who just shop in any direction you feel like? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.