Chief executive Mike Coupe said the three-item product limit had been removed after customers complained it was a barrier to being able to shop for other people.

In an update to customers, he wrote: “We have now lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products and hope that this will help more of you to shop for others. I also want to reassure you that stock levels are now much better right across the store.”

Purchasing limits still remain on popular items including pasta, UHT milk, antibacterial products and some tinned and frozen foods.

Supermarkets placed purchasing limits on items last month to prevent panic buying and shelves being emptied due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Aldi, Morrisons and Waitrose have already eased some of their buying restrictions.

Sainsbury’s said it had also added an extra 150,000 customers to its list of 450,000 elderly and vulnerable customers who have been given priority booking for online deliveries.

Coupe wrote: “At the end of last week we received the government database, which includes details of all the people in England who have registered with the government to say that they are vulnerable and need help getting a food shop.

“Since then we have been able to match almost 150,000 additional customers against our database. We have already contacted almost 30,000 of those and so we are now contacting almost 120,000 additional customers to offer them a priority delivery slot.

“We are waiting for the databases for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will contact vulnerable customers in those areas as soon as we are able.”