The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic mandated Governor Murphy to close all public schools on March 18th, 2020 and issue a stay at home order on March 21, 2020, closing all non-essential businesses in New Jersey until further notice.
Panic buying–as we all have seen–includes people buying huge quantities of specific items such as toilet paper, bottled water, and hand sanitizer. These fear driven purchases have led people to clear out store shelves unnecessarily.
At Costco in early March, shoppers couldn’t find basic items despite paying the annual membership fee of $60.
When people shop excessively, they increase the risk of creating a resource scarcity when there doesn’t need to be any.
In a Psychology Today article titled “7 Reasons for Panic-Buying Behavior” published by Shahram Heshmat, Ph.D., it says, “…The nature of this virus is such that the outcome remains unchanged irrespective of any actions an individual may take. Control can be thought of as the belief that one has at one’s disposal a response that can influence the outcome…Panic buying helps people feel in control of the situation.”
Stores like Target have responded by limiting people to buying just one of any given item at a time, specifically in the hoarded categories like paper towels, disinfectant wipes, and, yes, the coveted toilet paper.
In a podcast episode called “Wipe Out” from 99% Invisible, the hosts explained that empty shelves do not necessarily indicate item scarcity, it’s the time it takes to restock the sold out items that causes the problem.
Roman Mars, one of the hosts, says, “…Unlike a lot of other products, most of the toilet paper supply chain is entirely in the US or North America, so manufacturing hasn’t shut down at all, and people are not consuming any more toilet paper than usual. The bottleneck lies in the difference between how quickly people are buying it in stores and how much production can be ramped up….”
Items such as toilet paper only disappear quickly because of the time frame it takes for suppliers to arrange store contracts for the shipment of products.
Ayesha Sultana, a Liberal Arts major at Mercer who purchased a considerable amount of toilet paper at the beginning of the social distancing says, “Honestly, I wasn’t panicking but…I did buy extra tissues and a few staple foods because I was planning on self quarantining for a few weeks, which I did.”
In a TIMES article called “Why Overreacting to the Threat of the Coronavirus May Be Rational” by Belinda Luscombe, and Steven Taylor who wrote The Psychology of Pandemics explain the origins of the anxiety.
Taylor says, “Yet, [we are] told that the big problem [coronavirus] should be addressed with small, seemingly trivial solutions (e.g., hand washing). So, many people [feel] that they need to do more to keep themselves and their families safe. Hence, the excessive shopping.”
Buying in bulk does not grant immunity to COVID-19, although the preparedness and control some people feel encourages them to continue practicing this behavior.
According to the article “Food Safety and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” published by the U.S Food & Drug Administration, the FDA is consistently monitoring any changes in food manufacturing.
“There are no nationwide shortages of food, although in some cases the inventory of certain foods at your grocery store might be temporarily low…No widespread disruptions have been reported in the supply chain,” the FDA says.
