No Bacon, No Bath Tissue: Panic Buying Returns on Covid Jump

[left-of-center2012]

Households across the U.S. are once again filling grocery carts brimful in a second round of panic buying as the virus surges and states clamp down on economic activity. Defensive purchasing is affecting everything from paper towels to bacon. Even the world’s biggest retailer is reporting shortages of high-demand items, including cleaning supplies, breakfast foods -- and the most important commodity in any bathroom.

“It really does have everything to do with what’s happening with Covid cases in any particular community,” Walmart’s chief executive officer, Doug McMillon, said on an earnings call in the past week. “We’re going to be able to respond in this instance better than we did in the first half of the year, although we’re still -- as a total supply chain -- stressed in some places.”

The new wave of pantry stockpiling hits about eight months after the March boom, meaning makers of packaged food and household items have had some time to prepare. General Mills Inc. added 45 external production lines through contractors this year, while Campbell Soup Co. spent $40 million to expand production of Goldfish crackers. Over the last three weeks, demand for non-perishable items such as paper goods, canned goods, spices, broths and canned vegetables jumped 60-70%, according to Centricity Inc., a platform that tracks online activity like searches and e-commerce.

Toilet paper is a tougher one to find, with consumers sharing on Twitter photos of bare shelves -- and pleas to fellow shoppers to share the supply. “March 2.0,” observed one tweeter. Kimberly-Clark Corp., maker of Scott and Cottonelle toilet paper, said it was cooperating with its clients and customers to keep tabs on supplies and fill inventory gaps. Procter & Gamble Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Corso said the maker of Charmin continues “to work around the clock to produce product as quickly as possible.”

“Paper towel consumption is related to increased cleaning situations, as consumers are cleaning more frequently,” she said. “Toilet paper consumption is tied to the increased amount of time consumers are spending at home. For both, people are consuming more and stocking their pantries at a higher level than before the pandemic.”

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_hT_cRUmdQ4J:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-21/no-bacon-no-bath-tissue-panic-buying-s-back-with-covid-surge+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[louis-t]

1. Hoarders turn us all into hoarders.

I saw an old couple buying 2 24-packs of tp. Who the Hell needs 48 rolls of tp?

[mr_lebowski]

2. That's not that much TP ...

A lot of grandparents stock up on stuff like that and then give stuff to their grown-up kids families too (if they live nearby I mean).

[catbyte]

5. A disabled person I know goes through a regular roll of TP every day to day and a half. I

think she overdoes it, but I don't have her problems. Forty-eight rolls would last her about 6 weeks, not too long. I'd hate to be their septic system, though.

[Hekate]

36. When my husband had active ulcerative colitis, so did he. 'Nuff said.

[safeinOhio]

6. For years I've been buying 90 rolls at a time.

Last run I had 50 rolls socked away. About a month ago, when the dropped back down, I got another box. Hate to go to the store for tp.

[Sherman A1]

9. That really isn't that much to have in stock as mentioned in the posts above

There are also supply chain issues involved as well. So picking up an extra pack here or there isn't a bad idea.

[louis-t]

11. See my post "I get it, some people need more"

"I bought 2- 4 packs. I live alone. That will last me at least 2 months. I tend to think the couple I saw buying 48 rolls already had at least that much at home. It reminds me of 1973, Arab Oil Embargo. The news was showing the gas lines, and a car with gas running down the side of the car from over-filling the tank, sitting in line waiting to get more gas."

There is a difference between stocking up and being a pig. The tp didn't disappear off the shelves by itself. When you see someone who has a shopping cart full of tp, they're just being pigs. Unless they're buying for an orphanage.

[demmiblue]

16. My usual Kroger went back to the 1 pack per sale guideline (good for them).

I have an extra few packs in case neighbors or family members need it.

I actually saw the coveted Clorox wipes! I don't use them, but I took note going down the aisle.

People freaking out is the problem.

[Chiyo-chichi]

29. My Kroger stores have had that policy in place all along.

[GoCubsGo]

30. Mine always kept the limit.

I think it may have been two for most of the summer, which it still is for some items. They just started getting the wipes back in two weeks ago. I don't see them elsewhere very often, but I don't use them much, either, so no big deal. I have always kept a decent stock of TP on hand because I tend to shop the sales. But, I don't have the funds to hoard it, even if I wanted to.

A lot of things seem to be spotty, depending on which store chain, and which items one is looking for. Some are cleaned out of certain paper products. Dried pasta can be in short supply, along with various brands of laundry detergent and household cleaners.

I agree that people freaking out is the problem. It reminds me a lot of how things are prior to various weather events around here, like when snow is in the forecast. People here lose their minds over a damn dusting.

[Hekate]

35. I have not seen the Clorox wipes all year, and suddenly there was a pallet at Costco. I was allowed

...one package of 5 rolls, which was fine, but by then the pallet was stripped. The young man in charge of meting the product out said it comes in randomly and is immediately gone, first come first served.

In order to conserve the wipes I already had, I’ve been using dilute Clorox bleach in a gallon of water to wipe down my purchases with a rag. It’s not optimal, but it’s there and it’s cheap.

[Hortensis]

18. Nonsense. Sensible stocking of supplies is NECESSARY and RESPONSIBLE

for a strong, sustainable, resilient society. It's always that way. Every institution involved in planning for emergencies has recommended people always be able to sustain for varying periods. And only those who take care of themselves are in any shape to help those who are not.

But too many people spoiled by constant availability of everything needed for life refuse to believe it, even when it already has happened. This is for them:



Everyone knew the bigger second wave was hitting this fall and had months to prepare sensibly for possible shortages by stocking items they'll need and use whatever happens.

It's not that those who purchased in advance of need are "hoarding" or "panicking."

It's that those who didn't are negligent and now faced with inconvenience. That should be all they have to complain about as, hopefully, it'll go smoother this time around.

As long as they don't get sick. Then it's OUR turn to complain -- about them. Those who stocked of toilet paper (etc) for their household will be able to limit their excursions, perhaps to none during the worst of this. Those who don't will be hitting the stores again and again, presumably along with the anti-maskers and Covid deniers, each time the next "last" roll gets smaller and smaller.

[louis-t]

20. Key word "sensible".

Some supply lines were interrupted last time, but hoarding exacerbated the shortages. If I go and buy a truckload of paper products, I am making it difficult for someone with a family to supply their basic needs. It is not necessary to hoard.

[Hortensis]

22. Louis, I've never seen anything that looked like hoarding

any time over the past 9 months.

Or panicking, and I think that'd be pretty easy to pick up on while strolling calmly down the long lanes of supermarkets everywhere. Even almost impossible to miss.

But no, not even parents come for disposable diapers and formula, and I'd think the prospect of being without those would bring on panic AND hoarding if anything would.

As for sensible, imo insulting those it would be sensible to emulate is not sensible, it's...inappropriate.

Hoping you'll always always find more than 2 rolls of TP at a time, and never less, as this plays out.

[louis-t]

23. So, you don't consider an entire shopping basket filled with tp

hoarding? I don't recall ever seeing anyone do that before March of this year. I don't recall seeing 24 packs anywhere except Costco before March of this year. Kroger had 12 packs. That was it.

[Hortensis]

25. You don't know how many they were buying for. It's probably

not wise to assume the worst of people we know nothing about. What you call hoarding others call not about to create stupid emergencies for themselves in the middle of ones that can't be helped.

Our son and DIL did some shopping for us and her daughter at Costco just last week, including three four-packs of their good bacon. Outrage!!!! NO ONE needs 12 packages of bacon! Hoarding! Well, I assume here and there someone does, not everyone has 0 or 1.67 children and the old folks stuffed away in rest homes, but it was "just" four per household this time. We're "hoarding" our other 3 in the freezer.

I won't mention the other couple items I like from there, inevitably sold in multiples, just in case it'd be kinder to avoid getting anyone worked up over them too. Forgot to mention, though, we have helped neighbors out with toilet paper and ibuprofen this year, promptly repaid with same, though it need not have been. Neighbors do that kind of thing a lot.

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Sorry, Hortensia, But...

...there was clear evidence of hoarding in the retail sales data.
Remember when the CEO of Clorox said the supply chain wouldn't recover until 1Q21? He was wrong by more than 5 months.
The data showed a simple cause. The demand for those products fell way below historical in June, July & August.
It's obvious people bought way more than they needed, as, for many consumer products, they bought NONE for the next 90 days.
There was, in fact hoarding & panic buying that took place.
There's nothing prudent about hoarding, and panicking & prudence are essentially exclusive terms.

[Hortensis]

32. Sorry, but NO. Buying "none for the next 90 days" is not evidence

Last edited Sat Nov 21, 2020, 06:33 PM - Edit history (1)

of hoarding but of stocking up. There's a world of difference in those terms.

The very essence of preparedness means it should take some time to use up the supplies AND that most often that will not start immediately but when and if need arises. The federal government recommendation back in the 1990s, before it degraded to what we have now, was at least 3 months (coincidentally, today's 90 days being called "hoarding." WTF? ).

Hoarding's what mean, selfish, irresponsible, more often than not irrational people do, and by its nature it overdoes. The definition can come down occasionally, of course, to simply whether supplies are abundant or inadequate for all. Stocking up should be done ahead of time before the massive rushes of all those newly aware of need create the shortages blamed on "hoarders."

We bought more than we needed for the immediate future, hard not to in economical 24- and 48-packs, knowing that the immediate future WOULD be followed by an even worse second wave. And we did it before it emptied any shelves, which is kind of the point I'm trying to make: Our duty to take smart, responsible care of ourselves, and with that do our part for society. And to try to educate people that doing that is right and good, not wrong and dysfunctional.

Anyone who wants to dispute terminology can check any NGO or government preparedness site and see if they advise hoarding or stocking.

Btw, forgot to mention, the Republicans have shortened the length of time recommended on the main preparedness government sites from several weeks or some months to three days. THREE DAYS. Part of the excuse I've read for shortening it is that most people won't lay in even two weeks, so they dropped the bar to 3 days' food supply (!!!) hoping more would find that doable. Now it just mentions what you can stuff in a bug-out pack, presumably figuring it'll cover the time most refugees from climate disasters need to reach family's homes -- where hopefully the same 3 days won't already be eaten down.

The same people have brought our national strategic food stockpile, which I believe used to contain a 4-year supply (?), to a dangerously low, widespread-famine-low level if it was ever really needed. Far worse than the current need. I can think immediately of cases where it could be.

[ProfessorGAC]

44. We Disagree

Completely.
The data says what it says.
The data, not opinion, says hoarding & panic buying occurred.
Two years of hand sanitizer in 4 weeks?
3 years of surface sanitizing product selling in large container quantities, in 6 weeks?
And I'm talking about multiple lines of consumer product. Not just a couple examples.
The evidence is clear, you just don't really want to consider it.

[Hortensis]

45. Dysfunctional definitions. When's the last time you read

a story on this that didn't call stocking up hoarding? We've become an increasingly dysfunctional society in many ways, and just one manifestation is unquestioned terminology that encourages irresponsibility while demonizing responsibility.

SHADES OF TRUMPSTERISM!

Hardly strange if a similar hostility and meanness toward others is being transmitted and openly expressed by people on both sides of the political spectrum. It's like an infectious disease determinedly denied and just as determinedly spread.

We all have to shop, run into the same problems, and start bitching at the same frustrations. Same for those pushing their own attitudes and adopted social pathologies in the "innocent" nonpolitical articles we read.

[Kaleva]

34. Those are the people who will panic buy again

I have enough to on hand to last me and my wife for sometime and I've been doing that for awhile now, long before COVID19. When people were panic buying earlier this year, I didn't need to purchase any and when things settled, I rebuilt my stock over time. My guess is that the folks who panic bought didn't maintain their stock and they used up what they had. Now with the new crisis, they are out buying in bulk again to stockpile. Rather then taking the better route by spreading out the purchases over time and buying when the items are plentiful and on sale.

[catbyte]

3. I'm glad I bought a pack of TP at the store the other day. Last spring was awful.

Hoarders are selfish, unpatriotic, and just plain awful.

[louis-t]

8. I get it, some people need more.

I bought 2- 4 packs. I live alone. That will last me at least 2 months. I tend to think the couple I saw buying 48 rolls already had at least that much at home. It reminds me of 1973, Arab Oil Embargo. The news was showing the gas lines, and a car with gas running down the side of the car from over-filling the tank, sitting in line waiting to get more gas.

[brewens]

4. That's why I bought a small chest freezer and slammed it about a month ago.

I was also a couple weeks ahead of the hoarders in March. I hoard early at least. No toilet paper. I use about a roll a month with my bidet. I wasn't quite ready for another 48 roll Costco pack in March but got one anyway. I still have most of that left.

[Sherman A1]

10. WOW

you found a freezer. They have been tough to come across. Thankfully I have an upright model that soldiers on for us and it is pretty full. A bit less now that the turkey is in the fridge thawing to cook on Tuesday next week.

[brewens]

12. I found a pretty decent one on Amazon for $200. 3.5 cubic feet. About the size of a dishwasher.

I was kind of surprised. I looked for them a few times since last spring and didn't see any that looked good at a reasonable price.

Glad you reminded me about the turkey. I got one of those too. At 59, I'm making my first attempt at cooking a Thanksgiving dinner.

[Sherman A1]

15. Good luck on the Thanksgiving dinner

Done it many times and it can be a lot of work, but there is nothing complicated.

I will tell you a story from last year. My SIL fixed the turkeys at her home for the family gathering which I am figuring was her first time doing turkeys. I was designated to carve them and her Mom was assisting. We were both surprised when we cam across the bags of giblets still inside. Her Mom was embarrassed as all get out and I just whispered, "Shhh, We won't say a word.....everything is fine."

[brewens]

17. I have a team of experts advising. I probably won't get hurt. I'm doing the apple pie and dressing

Wednesday. The rest on Thursday. That will just be the turkey, gravy and mashed potatoes. A just a salad and cranberry sauce to go with it. Then I fill the freezer back up with the leftovers. I'll be making turkey noodle soup too. I already do chicken, but had learning to cook turkeys for that in mind for some time.

[Sherman A1]

19. We have Turkey Noodle Soup in the slow cooker

Right now. That and some corn bread muffins for dinner.

[phylny]

24. We also purchased a freezer some time in June, I believe.

We had to wait for it, but it was worth the wait. We got it at Lowe's.

[MissB]

7. I picked up my weekly curbside pickup yesterday

I’d ordered two more boxes of cat litter and a 3 lb pack of bacon, plus my normal weekly fruit/veggie/dairy needs. Oh and a bottle of Marsala wine because I’m making some chicken Marsala this week.

The only thing substituted was the Marsala, and it was just a different brand. Everything else was available.

Of course, I wasn’t buying paper goods- those were already stocked up at Costco when I went a few months ago.

[Iggo]

13. We've been slow-roll hoarding since about mid-summer.

We agreed it was a decent bet that another wave of covid would arrive right around flu season, and that would absolutely trigger more panic buying. I did two days of that back in March and I don't want to do that again. (EDIT: My sister-in-law reminded me it was three days. I forgot about the Friday before the Monday & Tuesday.)

I don't like the current reality, but it's still the current reality.

Come on, vaccine !!!

[Drahthaardogs]

14. Installed bidets on all mine back in March

I learned to appreciate them in Korea. Best decision I made.

[Kaleva]

42. So did I

[Maeve]

21. So glad I already got the bacon for Thanksgiving!

We cover the turkey's breast with strips of bacon--it bastes the turkey and adds a lovely flavor, then you can crumble the bacon into the mashed potatoes. Ahhhh....peppered bacon works best, but that is sometimes hard to find.

[Hekate]

38. You're making my mouth water. I bought a turkey breast, frozen solid & about football sized...

I bet you anything it would roast a treat wrapped in bacon, and now I’m wondering where I can get some... mmmmm, bacon

[Maeve]

40. I interlace it like a pie top lattice so it stays in place

Good thing supper is in about half an hour!

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. "Bath tissue"? Such a euphemism, I didn't even realise what it is at first

The phrase 'bog roll' was more frequently used in American English in 2019 than 'bath tissue'. It was 30 times more common in British English. 'Loo roll' was 140 times more in British English; and 2.5 times more common in American English. 'Toilet tissue' is 45 times more common than 'bath tissue' in the USA, and acceptable for retailers to use.

'Toilet paper' is 860 times more common.

'Ass wipe' is 3 times as common as 'bath tissue', though admittedly that could refer to the American President.

[Hekate]

39. Advertising terminology. Everyone I know in real life calls it TP or toilet paper. nt

[Kingofalldems]

28. I haven't seen a Bounty paper towel in a month.

[RobinA]

31. I Saw Some

around August, but noticed that paper towels were getting scare about a month ago. I’ve got my TP stash from last time, but my paper towel supply isn’t quite so robust.

[marmar]

33. .....

[ChazII]

43. +10. n/t

[kskiska]

37. I was in Costco today. No toilet paper.

They did have some paper towels, though, and I noticed everyone loading up on those, I guess…just because.

[left-of-center2012]

46. From the OP ...

“Paper towel consumption is related to increased cleaning situations, as consumers are cleaning more frequently,”

[Hekate]

41. If someone in your house gets sick, you won't be able to skip out to the store & you WILL need paper

...products.

[Blue_true]

47. I went shopping today, everyone was orderly. I found everything that I was looking for. nt

[Lancero]

48. Some of the responses in this topic are why I'd been having to shop more often during the pandemic.

Before, I'd normally make one large shopping trip a month to buy, well, everything for the month.

I wouldn't consider it hoarding. It's all stuff that I'll be using throughout the month, I'm not buying it with the expectation of sitting on it for months or years.

Now that the pandemic has struck though, I'm in a odd situation. Do I make my bulk purchase at the start of the month, and become a (As Catbyte and Louis-t say) a awful, unpatriotic, and selfish pig? Or do I make repeated trips, only buying what I have a immediate need for?

My car has been getting a lot more mileage these past months. I'd love to be able to make one purchase that'll last me for the month, but it's a fine balance between 'asshole who deprives other families of what they need', and 'person trying to minimize outside contact as to not get sick'.