What are the bare necessities of our lives? Some of us might miss the regular manicures, weight training or pilates classes, but we can say with considerable certainty that we are perfectly capable of surviving without them.
Not so food. Or toothpaste, soap and shampoo, without which the reluctance of some of the population to engage in social distancing might vanish more quickly.
Grocery and convenience store retailers are staying open while much of the nation goes into lockdown, to ensure that we are able to eat. And basic empirical evidence in the form of bulk buying, queues before opening times and aisles of empty shelves indicates that sales have been radically higher.
As time progresses, however, the resilience of the big supermarkets is likely