I don't mind buying the port Howard. I've got to buy three bottles for a dinner on Saturday, one more won't hurt.
Maybe the 6000 settlers will arrive from outer space in craft lit by orange lights that were recently seen checking out the location.
Unmanned till positions Alexander; I suspect the supermarkets profile their workforce levels according to known factors, plus a bit of Queuing theory too maybe.
To explain further (ack Wiki):
Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines (or queues). The theory enables mathematical analysis of several related processes, including arriving at the (back of the) queue, waiting in the queue (essentially a storage process), and being served by the server(s) at the front of the queue. The theory permits the derivation and calculation of several performance measures including the average waiting time in the queue or the system, the expected number waiting or receiving service and the probability of encountering the system in certain states, such as empty, full, having an available server or having to wait a certain time to be served.