General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWSJ: Grocers, Retailers Prepare for Surge in Demand as Coronavirus Spreads
U.S. shoppers stock up on dry goods, sanitizer, cleaning supplies
Updated March 1, 2020 4:09 pm ET
This is like a natural disaster, but its an illness, said Doug Baker, vice president of industry relations at FMI, a trade group for food retailers.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it has seen greater demand for products including face masks and hand sanitizers at many stores and online. Home Depot Inc. said it had halted online orders for face masks and was limiting purchases at its stores to 10 per customer.
Our merchandising and supply-chain teams are working hard to replenish these items as quickly as possible whenever inventory runs out in any of our stores, a Home Depot spokeswoman said.
The masks known as N95 respirators that block 95% of very small particles were out of stock at many stores in the Chicago area over the weekend, as were other basic medical supplies and hand sanitizer.
Some sellers on the e-commerce sites of Amazon.com Inc. and eBay Inc. had set prices for masks and sanitizer well above levels that are typical for those products at U.S. stores and websites.
One Amazon vendor advertised a 12-pack of 8-ounce bottles of Purell hand sanitizer for $129.90, or more than $12 per bottle. Another was selling a two-pack of 8-ounce Purell bottles for $41.95. Average unit price for U.S. hand sanitizers at the end of November was $2.06, according to data provider Nielsen.
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Ms. DeShon, 31, eventually bought the last six organic hand sanitizers from the baby section at a Target store.
I have super bad anxiety around health and Im a germaphobe, Ms. DeShon said. This is basically the worst thing that can happen mentally.
This article wasn't behind the paywall at first, but now I'm having trouble accessing it. It might be behind the paywall after all.
More at link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/grocers-prepare-for-surge-in-demand-as-coronavirus-spreads-11583004925
That price gouging for masks is outrageous, particularly because experts are advising healthy people not to buy or wear them.
Grasswire2
(13,571 posts)Food, health items, household supplies...
Mike 03
(16,616 posts)This is going to be tricky for a while, trying to figure out how anxious everybody else is.
It's sort of like when the stock market is really high and you're trying to guess when other investors are going to start selling. You want to sell first, but you don't want to overreact. (That's not a very good analogy).
MissB
(15,812 posts)Was incredibly low on toilet paper Friday night. I think there were like 5 packages left after I loaded some into my cart (bought 2; thats how I usually buy it).
The next morning, that same Costco had about 1000 people lining up just before it opened. Ive been there at that store at opening time on a Saturday morning and there are maybe 30 people (mostly couples) hovering around.
The nearby Winco had a full parking lot the next morning at 7 am. Usually its a ghost town in there that early on a Saturday- thats why I go there at that time on that day. They were out of red lentils which sort of sucks.
Demovictory9
(32,468 posts)Its the closest Costco to where the first person diagnosed in the state works.
central scrutinizer
(11,659 posts)Looked like Christmas Eve yesterday. Parking lot jammed, huge line waiting for the doors to open at 9:30
ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)I guess the "Perfect Press Conference" was not very re-assuring.
Response to Grasswire2 (Reply #1)
cwydro This message was self-deleted by its author.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)The_jackalope
(1,660 posts)But I expect that may change as the situation becomes more real to people,
Purell was gone at the local Mallwart, but lots of house brand.
I spoke to my pharmacist about getting extended amounts of my scrips. He said no problem for most drugs, but narcotics will need a release from the doctor. Then he said they're keeping an eye on things because most of the active ingredients are sourced in China. but there's no indications of shortages yet.
Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)I ran my errands today. Every store was like .... it was a blend of Christmas Eve and the day before a blizzard hits. Packed, people seemed on edge, rushed, bare shelves.
Target - I needed bleach for a very stubborn area way up high in my shower. Nope. No bleach at all in Target. Completely bare shelves. A lot of cleaning products were picked over. Grocery section was a mad house. All out of cart wipes.
Wegman's - typical day before a blizzard scenario. Bare shelves for some products. I noticed a lot of people with cases and water and the large packs of toilet paper. Out of cart wipes on one entrance side. The available cart wipes were surrounded by people.
Trader Joe's - utterly homicidal. Nearly out of cases of water. Granola bars very picked over. A lot of freezer goods were out. Cart wipes were shocked, though. They were giving out samples of orange slices - for the Vitamin C, she said.
Whole Foods - also crazy. They are 100% out of hand sanitizer. I noticed the supplements aisle was packed with people.
Costco - this was the worst of it all. I usually do Costco on Saturdays and Sundays and I'm used to it being busy, but this was next level. The parking lot was a madhouse. When I walked in there were only 7 carts left. There was a line to get into the store because they had employees personally spraying and wiping each cart handle. There was another cart at the entrance filled with reusable towels and disinfectant waiting to be switched out. Once in the store it was pretty much Mad Max Thunderdome. All I wanted was Palmiers. Several employees had disinfectant bottles and reusable towels. The electronics guy was trying to wipe down display computers and phones - so many fingers touch those. Most employees had gloves. I took note of people's carts. A lot of people had stacks of Lysol Spray packages. Many people had cases - usually multiple - of water and cases of toilet paper. Oddly, the refrigerated and frozen meat section was nearly wiped out. I guess we give up on going Vegan during a pandemic. Overall, a lot of carts with water, disinfectant supplies, and toilet paper. It was intense. Very few sample stations today, which is odd. I was amused that everyone is in a pandemic panic, so they are doing everything to get themselves in large crowds of people. One area that was totally empty? The bathrooms. Everyone is stocked up on Lysol, but no one is washing hands. The energy in that store was very frazzled.
I eventually wandered into a small chain grocery store to buy a teeny bottle of Clorox.
Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)I can't edit my own post for some reason. Anyway, this was in a Philly suburb. A friend of mine from Jersey said she had the same experience.
milestogo
(16,829 posts)It's not like the water supply is going to be contaminated or shut down.
Tree-Hugger
(3,370 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)It will get to be a madhouse most certainly.
marlakay
(11,484 posts)Buying my regular hand soap and few other normal things and while in soap isle noticed all the hand sanitizer was gone.
I guess in a town of retirees here in Oregon they got scared.