Supermarkets and online retailers are working to tackle a surge in orders due to restrictions brought in to keep residents at home.
Retailers have faced unprecedented delivery demand for food shopping and other goods in recent days as a 24-hour 'stay home' order took effect in Dubai.
In the city, residents must apply for a permit to leave home for essential shopping. In other emirates, police warned people could only leave home to visit a supermarket, pharmacy or attend a medical appointment.
Some shoppers told of up to a 15-day wait for groceries and more than a month for Amazon-style shopping orders.
“I tried to make an order from a supermarket chain but the closest delivery date was mid-May - another told me it would be two weeks at least,” said Irma Vaiciuleviciute, 39, who lives in Dubai's Motor City.
The Lithuanian said she would have to get a permit and go out to the shops herself instead.
“Even if we wanted to stay at home, we have no choice but to go out and get the groceries ourselves," she said.
The UAE has largely escaped panic buying, and most supermarket shelves remain stacked every day, as promised by the government and delivered by daily cargo flights.
But while the country's vast motorbike delivery fleet is geared up to ensure takeaways reach doorsteps within an hour, home supermarket deliveries are relatively new.
Most chains have small fleets of minibuses unused to large orders and some do not offer home deliver at all.
Arousha Fannan, 42, who works in fashion, said Carrefour's same day delivery service was extended to three days last week.
“I placed another order this week and was told it would be 15 days," she said.
“I am finding we are having to plan orders well in advance because otherwise we will just end up ordering junk food.”
Social media users on Carrefour’s Facebook page also told of long delays.
“We have received an extraordinary increase in online orders,” Carrefour UAE wrote in response.
“We are working around the clock to get back on track and have recruited additional resources to support our colleagues to deal with the unprecedented demand.”
It was not just groceries that shoppers were left with long delays for.
“I ordered appliances from Carrefour and Amazon last week as we’re moving this weekend,” said Dubai resident Sarah Marks, 35, from Canada.
“There is still no word of when they will be delivered and we are left with no fridge or stove.”
The mother-of-two and teacher said her attempts to contact the companies for information had only added to her frustration.
“I’ve got no answer from Carrefour and Amazon just reiterated the information that was already on their website,” she said.
An Amazon.ae representative told The National they were dealing with a huge increase in online orders.
“We’re working really hard to continue helping customers, while also prioritising the safety of our teams and partners, including maintaining safe social distance from co-workers and increasing the frequency and intensity of cleaning at all sites," they said.
“In the past few weeks, many customers have turned to online shopping as a way to find their everyday needs such as groceries, sanitisers, and work from home supplies."
When The National called Choithrams' hotline on Friday morning, a company representative said it would take at least week for a delivery in Dubai.
For an order for essential groceries worth around Dh400 through the Union Coop mobile application, the earliest delivery date was April 12 but only between 6pm and 8pm.
At Kibsons, the fruit and vegetables delivery company, Dubai customers should expect a week long wait with the earliest delivery slot being April 17 between 5pm and 9pm.
Carrefour had a two-week waiting time in Dubai, and a single slot was available on Thursday April 23, after which the next spot was April 25.
