Posted on 03/02/2020 6:26:04 PM PST by david1292
As an outbreak of a new coronavirus causes some U.S. customers to fill up shopping carts and thin out store shelves, industry groups and experts say grocers can tamp down on “panic buying” by planning ahead and trying to stay stocked.
Grocery stores, including Costco stores, have seen a spike in sales of household items like hand sanitizer, face masks and cases of bottled water in recent weeks. Sales of shelf-stable grocery items, including fruit snacks, dried beans and pretzels, are on the rise, too, according to late-February data from Nielsen.
At U.S. stores, sales of fruit snacks were up by nearly 13%, dried beans were up 10% and pretzels were up 9% in the week that ended Feb. 22, according to Nielsen data. Sales of energy drinks, pet medicine, vitamin supplements and first-aid kits also saw sales spike.
Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations at food retailer trade group FMI, said U.S. shoppers have focused on buying items for prevention and preparedness. Now, in some parts of the country, they are shifting to response mode. He said they’re buying longer-lasting grocery items, such as canned goods and frozen fruits and vegetables.
He said retailers are doing their best to predict and respond to such shifts.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Some stores are beginning to limit the amount of toilet paper you can buy.
Have not seen this syndrome at any store I have been to lately
Sounds like bull puckey
I was just at my local Publix near Greenville, SC. Water and Progresso soup shelves were pretty empty. Bleach shelves were about half full. Everything else was stocked as usual.
Unfortunately the liquor store had already closed by the time I got there. I go tomorrow to up my supply of brandy (hot toddies) and vodka (everything else).
“Some stores are beginning to limit the amount of toilet paper you can buy. “
Figuring Bernie will be elected?
My local Walmart has had empty shelves for about two years now...and no Corona, or other virus is the cause. They just don’t carry the variety of products and brands that they used to, and it’s very hard to find anything there anymore. I end up having to go to one or two other stores to get what I used to be able to buy at Walmart.
Neither have I seen any panic buying......weekend shopping was normal as well.
Time to set back in my hidie-hole and re-read THE DECAMERON and MASK OF THE RED DEATH again.
No panic buying down here in Alabama that I’ve seen yet, although I do need to restock what we’ve used from the last EOTWAWKI/pandemic/asteroid strike/CW II alerts that have been spread over the last fifteen years or so. I think toilet paper and bar soap are in the shortest supply here at home. After this one passes, I may hold a yard sale on Vienna sausages.
Went to Sam's yesterday...I've really been done for about 3 weeks but wanted to pick up some bleach. About half gone. On the other hand it looks like they had ordered extra disinfectant wipes and toilet paper...they were both stocked to overflowing.
They know what's coming.
Was at my local Costco yesterday. No Clorox wipes anywhere. TP was down to a small stack. Noticed items in the bulk dry foods were low, which is never the case (large bags of beans and rice), rubbing alcohol completely sold out in the pharmacy area. Still plenty of food to buy, but specific prep-type items were definitely out or on the low side.
It’s not. I Have posted plenty of pictures of what is happening.
Here is how it happened Sunday where I am with no outbreaks.
Store had most of the water and paper goods gone but there was some still there of some brands but not all. I am standing there thinking WTF...has someone announced there is a case in town or what. Then someone comes up to me and said exactly what I was thinking..and he said DAMN I dont know what is going on but I better get some.
So retailers should keep their shelves stocked if they have the items because empty shelves get people thinking.
So then another person comes up while we are standing there and says where is the toilet paper. Then he said I hope this is just lazy employees
So I eventually go find a stocker guy and asked if he had the toilet paper I wanted. He went to back and found 1.
People are also buying to create a black market. People are already on the streets selling masks and alcohol in NY
We don’t go shopping on the first of the month, when the mobs of food stamp recipients are out spending my tax dollars.
Not only that I am in the Phoenix area and it is retirement central and growing
Have not seen a single mask on anyone and the flow of people at the store was totally normal, no panic buying or hovering near the toilet paper waiting for the next pallet to come out
Stores were busy and I saw no signs of freakouts, only on the news media but that is to be expected
To the extent that this is true, we can thank the ‘RATS and their treasonous media lackeys.
What poor writing. No surprise.
Keeping inventory on the shelf does nothing to combat 'panic buying' - it merely attempts to keep up with it.
I know anything like hand sanitizer was d=gone in any store in LA. but I save very little run on staples.
Pretty much zero panic.
In my area (near Seattle) I walked by three stores that had signs on the door. “No Hand Sanitizer”.
I went into two of them for other things, but thought I would see what their rubbing alcohol supplies looked like. They were all out of that as well.
Hopefully that stuff isn’t as dependent on China as the face masks and will get back in stock soon. We haven’t had dust masks for five weeks.
Seems to be isolated areas right now. Reports of panic buying in Hawaii especially. The state health department keeps giving mixed messages. They told residents should prepare and stock up on supplies. But the federal government says its unnecessary.
Areas around Seattle and Los Angeles as well people have reported empty shelves.
Fruit snacks and pretzels???
How much stores do you have? Days, Weeks, Months, or More? We've got a good solid month, could stretch to two. Need to get back to a year of reserves that we normally kept on hand.
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