据英国《卫报》报道，英国多家超市近日的货架上除了零散的物资之外，印有水果、蔬菜等食物照片的纸板也被放在没有实物的货架上。英媒称，由于供应问题加上产品种类减少，很多超市供货不足，只能采取此操作，掩盖略显空荡的货架。

 

Tesco has begun using pictures of asparagus, carrots, oranges and grapes in its fresh produce aisles¹, prompting ridicule² on social media.

英国连锁超市特易购已经开始在其新鲜农产品通道中摆放芦笋、胡萝卜、橙子和葡萄的图片，此举遭到网友嘲讽。

 

The tactic³ comes as shortages of HGV drivers and pickers and packers on farms and food processing plants lead to low availability of some items in supermarkets. Problems at ports, where handlers are struggling to cope with a surge in deliveries for the festive⁴ season, are also leading to shortages.

超市采取此对策是因为英国的农场和食品加工厂缺少大卡车司机、采摘工和包装工，导致超市某些商品供应不足。港口的问题也导致了货源短缺。港口装卸工人正努力应对节日期间交货量激增的局面。

 

Bryan Roberts, a retail⁵ analyst⁶ at Shopfloor Insights, said he had only begun to see the cardboard cutouts of fresh produce in the past year, but said similar tactics had been in place elsewhere in supermarkets for some time. “It has become quite commonplace. It is not only because of shortages, but because a lot of the larger stores are now simply too big.”

Shopfloor Insights的零售分析师布莱恩·罗伯茨表示，他从去年才开始看到新鲜农产品的硬纸板图形，但他表示，超市其他区域的货架采取类似的策略已有一段时间了。“这一现象已经相当普遍。这不仅是因为货品短缺，而且是因为许多大型超市实在太大了。”

 

He said the cutouts were one of an array of tactics being used to fill space, including filling meat fridges with bottles of tomato sauce or mayonnaise, spreading packs of beer out across whole aisles, and erecting⁷ large posters or other marketing⁸ material.

他表示，这些硬纸牌是一种用来填补空间的对策。类似的策略还包括在肉类冰箱装上几瓶番茄酱或蛋黄酱，在过道内摆许多啤酒，以及竖立大型海报或其他营销材料。

 

Tesco, which has boasted that its sales have been boosted by its ability to keep shelves stocked, said the fruit and vegetable pictures were not linked to the recent supply chain issues and had been in use for many months.

此前曾自称货品储备能力提升了销售额的特易购表示，这些水果和蔬菜的图片与最近的供应链问题无关，已经使用了好几个月。

 

Traditional supermarkets, which can stock more than 40,000 product lines, have been honing their grocery ranges to improve efficiency so they can cut prices and compete more effectively with discounters such as Aldi and Lidl, which sell fewer than 3,000 different products.

传统超市可以存放4万多种产品，它们一直在精简经营商品的种类，以提高效率，从而能够降低价格，并与阿尔迪、历德等打折超市形成更有效的竞争。这些折扣商店销售的产品不超过3000种。

 

That process has only been accelerated by Brexit and the pandemic which have led to staff shortages and difficulties in shipping⁹ goods. Supermarkets and manufacturers have reduced the range of different types of pasta, coffee or teas they sell to make it easier to keep goods flowing.

由于英国脱欧和新冠肺炎疫情导致人员短缺和货物运输困难，这一进程被加快。超市和制造商已经减少了在售的意大利面、咖啡或茶的种类，以使商品更便于流通。

 

Some bulky and not very profitable items, such as bottled fizzy drinks and water, have also been pushed down the delivery priority list because of driver shortages, meaning there may be larger gaps on shelves than usual.

由于司机短缺，一些体积大、利润不高的商品，如瓶装汽水和水，也被挤出了优先送货名单，这意味着货架上的缺口可能比平时更大。

 

Several chains, including Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco have also shut food service counters to cut costs, leaving more space to fill.

塞恩斯伯里、阿斯达和特易购几家连锁超市还关闭了食品服务柜台以降低成本，留下了更多的空间。

 

The rise of online shopping, has meanwhile led to many supermarkets no longer stocking non-food items such as televisions, CDs or kettles which they once did, leaving areas of empty space which many have been unable to fill with alternative products. Some have brought in other services, such as opticians, key cutting or dry cleaners to take up space.

与此同时，网络购物的兴起导致许多超市不再像以前那样储存电视、光碟或水壶等非食品类商品，留下了许多无法用替代产品填满的空白区域。一些公司还引入了其他服务，如眼镜店、配钥匙店或干洗店来填满空间。

 

On fresh produce, stores such as Tesco also have targets to reduce food waste, and so are keeping stocks tighter than they might have done in the past.

在新鲜农产品方面，特易购等超市也制定了减少食品浪费的目标，因此它们的库存规模可能比过去更小。

 

Cardboard cutouts of expensive items such as detergents¹⁰, protein powders and spirits such as gin are also sometimes used to prevent shoplifting. Pictures of the items are put on shelves to indicate availability, and shoppers must pick up the actual product at the till.

诸如洗涤剂、蛋白粉和杜松子酒等烈性酒之类的昂贵商品有时也会使用硬纸板图形替代，以防被盗。商品的图片被放在货架上以表明有货，购物者必须在收银台领取实际的商品。

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