Spiking Demand For Sanitizer, Canned Goods Leaves Stores Struggling To Keep Up

Massive spikes in demand for cleaning and medical supplies, as well as nonperishable food items, have left grocery stores across the country scrambling to keep shelves stocked.

The empty shelves have caused stress and, in some cases, chaos.

Brandon Sterling, working security at a Harris Teeter grocery store in Washington, D.C., has seen that first-hand. Customers are so upset about shortages, "we have to escort them off the premises," he said.

"It's a sad thing," Sterling said, "when you see that a person has a dire need and they're not able to get it."

As the coronavirus continues to spread, many stores have reduced hours to allow more time to restock and clean overnight. Some locations have instituted per-customer caps on in-demand items like sanitizer and toiler paper to try to ensure more people have access to the limited supplies.

Where delivery options are available, stores are highlighting them as a way to reduce exposure to the virus. But they also warn that high demand means those delivery services may be experiencing delays.

And it's not just local stores feeling the pinch: "you will notice that we are currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories," Amazon has told customers.

Demand had already started to grow more than a week ago, before a high-profile wave of cancellations and mandatory closures swept the country.

Sales of hand sanitizer were up 470% in the first week of March, compared to the previous year, and spray disinfectants were up 385%, according to Nielsen.

Thermometer and rubbing alcohol sales were up more than 170%. There were also spikes in demand for first aid kits, hydrogen peroxide, antiseptic, soap, cold medicine, paper towels and toilet paper.

Meanwhile, food purchases showed a marked swing away from fresh produce and toward nonperishable pantry items — like dried and canned beans, rice, canned tuna and canned meat.

Alternatives to milk saw huge gains, with powdered milk sales up 126% and sales of oat milk, a trendy, expensive plant-based product, up nearly 350%.

Stocking up on essentials can be a rational step for someone expecting they may have to self-quarantine in the coming days or weeks, or simply attempting to reduce the number of times they visit the store and risk exposing themselves to the virus. Nielsen researchers say, based on patterns in multiple countries, customers are first preparing their medical cabinets and then stocking their pantries as the situation worsens.

But in some cases, driven by panic over future availability of products, people may be buying far more than they need and hoarding it — behavior that makes it harder for stores to meet their communities' needs.

"If you don't need an item in the next two weeks, leave it for someone who does," the National Retail Federation advised in a statement. "Hoarding and stockpiling creates unnecessary gaps between the time that someone who truly needs a product can find it back on retailers' shelves. This is particularly important for our most vulnerable neighbors — the elderly and those who are struggling with other health issues."

At the Harris Teeter in Washington, Sterling said retailers can only do so much to keep up with the pandemic-driven demand, and he urged people to be thoughtful in their purchases.

"Do you really need 18 24-packs of toilet paper while your neighbor has none?" he asked. "If we all just do what we can in order to look out for each other ... it just starts house to house, person to person, neighbor to neighbor." [Copyright 2020 NPR]