Behavior Patterns in Panic Buying

[Gumby]

It becomes wack-a-mole... authorities think they are solving a problem by closing schools and restaurants and all they are doing is increasing pressure on already stressed grocery store supply chains.

The young wife and I were discussing this over dinner last night. She wondered if the same wholesalers that supply restaurants and schools could, or perhaps already do, supply grocery stores. I don't know the answer.

 

[Nemo2]

It's amazing how a posture of authority, and firm directions, can be effective.

Border Collies R Us.

 

[NW-Bound]

The young wife and I were discussing this over dinner last night. She wondered if the same wholesalers that supply restaurants and schools could, or perhaps already do, supply grocery stores. I don't know the answer.

We have frequented some discount food stores that sell overstocked items from food wholesalers. The packages of food meant for commercial entities are huge. If you want a 25-lb box of rib eyes and have room for it, the price is indeed lower than at retail stores.

I once got a huge tray of sliced onion of 10 lbs for $2. It's primo quality, very large rounds cut through the waist of big onions, and obviously meant for hamburger joints. Most people passed it up due to the size, but I could use that for my French onion soup. Have been able to score that 3 times over the years.

These wholesalers are probably thinking about repackaging to cater to retail sales. They have to do something to stay in business, plus the demand for grocery is higher now. I don't know how big a deal it is to change over the packing plants to do smaller sizes.

 

[jollystomper]

One pattern shift that has to occur is people are going to need to buy more food from retail grocery stores.
Kids are out of school, no school lunch using the food normally bought by the cafeteria from commercial sources, so kids need to be fed at home with food that the grocery store.
Restaurants have been ordered closed (here at least), so you can't eat out if you wanted to, so those meals also have to come from the retail grocery store.
While you're in the grocery store, and you see some empty shelves, you pick up "a little extra" (hoarding).
Nobody buys much more than 1 extra meal to-go when eating at a restaurant...

It becomes wack-a-mole... authorities think they are solving a problem by closing schools and restaurants and all they are doing is increasing pressure on already stressed grocery store supply chains.

Interesting point. My mind goes to what specific aspects of the grocery store supply chain will be impacted. For example, far less homes cook "from scratch" these days as compared to the past. So prepared foods, frozen dinners, deli food, etc. are the likely impacts. I did notice, for example, the "cooked but frozen" food section and frozen fries were very empty, but fresh meat, chicken, and fish were still at normal levels.

Anything that can be quickly prepared via microwave are probably (if not already) the next wave of items to be in demand.

 

[Telly]

I dunno... in 4 weeks that 'pottamus at the zoo might be look'in pretty good! Ah, I don't think anybody'd notice if we whacked off a wee bit of rump roast...

 

[akck]

We did our restocking just as the run was beginning two weeks ago. We were low on tp and paper towels so got our usual and they were in plentiful supply at Costco. I knew we were low on rice and would need it in a couple of weeks so we picked up a bag. Last week, with the panic buying reported all over, we went back to get our usual fresh items. First thing, the parking lot was unusually full. They had just gotten their shipment in and for every tp they put on display, they handed one to a customer. I will admit we picked up one too. Later, a son was at Costco and overheard them saying they went through 17 pallets of tp that day. We also hit our grocery stores and noticed how bare certain sections were (tp, cleaners, medical, etc). I’m a little curious to see how bare they look this week.

 

[Koolau]

I've always tended to keep stocks of consumables on hand. Both parents were young adults during the Great Depression. My dad went hungry often during that time. His stories and his insistence on keeping consumables on hand rubbed off on me.

Superimposed on my upbringing is where I live. Here in the middle of the Pacific, I've heard it said that we have 7 days of food on hand. Every hurricane (scare) and every Tsunami warning has emptied the shelves of all stores for days at a time. Why folks don't stock up ahead of time, I've assumed to be the paycheck-to-paycheck phenomenon, not isolated to the Islands.

With that in mind, I've felt little need to stock up. Having said that, I shop regularly at Costco (and elsewhere) for perishables. So now, as "hoarders" clog the isles, I have to wait to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. At least all the paper products are gone, so the lines are a little shorter.

When I was at Costco a couple of days ago, they put out pallets of surface wipes and nitrile gloves RIGHT at the clogged check-out counters. Yep, I got one of each as I passed! Both pallets (plus one of baby wipes) disappeared as I waited. Amazing. I guess I'm more susceptible than I thought. YMMV

 

[Amethyst]

I peeked into the local liquor store. Shelves seemed well-stocked. At least people aren't trying to disinfect their insides, seeing that any other kind of disinfectant is unobtainium.

Whew! At least the critical supplies are both in stock and on sale. : )

 

[target2019]

It sounds like we'll be drawing down the limited amount of hard liquor we have on hand. Just doing my part.

 

[jazz4cash]

I peeked into the local liquor store. Shelves seemed well-stocked. At least people aren't trying to disinfect their insides, seeing that any other kind of disinfectant is unobtainium.

I went to the big discount wine and liquor store to stock up. It was surprisingly calm. People are always stocking up there anyway so it was business as usual. I did have to reach way back to find 3 bottles of DW's favorite wine. I can't survive lockdown unless she has her supply, and I was completely out of beer.

 

[audreyh1]

I did all my coronavirus grocery buying on March 3rd. At that time, I also bought some fresh things to eat in the meanwhile. There was plenty of everything on March 3rd.

But by now, I am out of cheddar cheese. I thought of going again today with F (who is only just now completing his shopping), but from what he says about the stores I decided I'd rather just endure the lack of cheddar cheese than to go to the store with him. So I'm staying home while right now he is off battling the grocery store crowds.

I should have asked him to pick some up, but I forgot.

There was tons of fancy/imported cheeses at Publix today, so we loaded up. Plenty of half-and-half and heavy cream. Eggs - only organic and free range left in spite of the 2 per customer limit. Paper products were completely out except for very few fancy small packs of paper napkins.

Oh, yeah, stocked up on wine too!

 

[gwraigty]

One pattern shift that has to occur is people are going to need to buy more food from retail grocery stores.
Kids are out of school, no school lunch using the food normally bought by the cafeteria from commercial sources, so kids need to be fed at home with food that the grocery store.
Restaurants have been ordered closed (here at least), so you can't eat out if you wanted to, so those meals also have to come from the retail grocery store.
While you're in the grocery store, and you see some empty shelves, you pick up "a little extra" (hoarding).
Nobody buys much more than 1 extra meal to-go when eating at a restaurant...

It becomes wack-a-mole... authorities think they are solving a problem by closing schools and restaurants and all they are doing is increasing pressure on already stressed grocery store supply chains.

Schools around here are still providing breakfast and lunches to go, but of course, someone has to get them there. I've read that not as many are showing up for these free meals as they thought, although it's still early on with all these adjustments.

Restaurants are closed for dining in, but take out and delivery are available.

Yet, many grocery stores are still running on empty. I predict that restaurant business may start to pick up a bit when it turns out to be a more reliable option for people to get food. At least until the grocery stores can start to catch up a bit.

 

[Tessie]

I went to Wegman’s on Monday. Very few people there and the store was implementing social distancing. They were also limiting purchases of many items. But what surprised me was no vegetable oil, no brownie mix and significant decrease in cake mixes. Guess people are heading for comfort foods....me too.

 

[Sunset]

We have frequented some discount food stores that sell overstocked items from food wholesalers. The packages of food meant for commercial entities are huge. If you want a 25-lb box of rib eyes and have room for it, the price is indeed lower than at retail stores.

I once got a huge tray of sliced onion of 10 lbs for $2......

Any you could name ?

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I went to the store to get a small amount of tp when a relative in NC told us she had heard about a shortage. Our stores were fully stocked. The store really did contribute to my hoarding a bit more than I had intended. Of the brands we liked they were in tiny packages or huge. The huge was $15 or buy 2 for $20. I figured I could give away 1/4 of it and break even. Paper towels were similarly packaged and priced.
Note to chain stores don't encourage mass consumption if supply chains are challenged anywhere.