The store manager of a major grocery store chain emailed Friday to explain just how panicked and irrational customers are behaving as they hoard toilet paper, paper towels, and bottled water. His words should serve as an abject lesson in what not to do during this Coronavirus outbreak:
Dan,
I saw the picture you tweeted of the toilet paper section at your local Walmart and I felt I just had to share my experience with you of managing a grocery department at a local retail store and dealing with all of the people coronavirus panic shopping. I have worked in retail for 14 years and have been in management for about 8 years and I have never seen something like this before. It compares to people shopping before a snow storm but times 5 or 6.
All of this panic shopping is so unnecessary and ridiculous, granted retail will be having a great first quarter this year. What people don't understand is that the supply chain can't handle this much volume. The particular chain I work for is a regional company based in the Midwest and we have been told by our buyers at the corporate office that there is literary no product in the marketplace to buy from manufacturers in the categories of paper products, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, and masks just to name a few.
This product does not exist, it has to be produced before there will be more. So when people truly are in need of toilet paper or water there won't be any to buy. So much damage has been done to the flow of product that in my opinion it will be weeks or months before these products are available to purchase again. Then there is the task of restocking every store in America that sells these products. There will be shortages and future disruptions in supply before everyone is replenished.
The other thing the consumer doesn't understand is that very little product in a retail store is ordered by staff that works at the store. Computer software is in place to analyze data, sales history, sales forecasts, shelf holding power, and other factors that go into deciding what is sent to each location. These systems cannot predict events like this or react quick enough to replenish any remaining supply that is still in a distribution center even if someone manually alters the numbers the system is analyzing.
People also just assume there is more merchandise in the back. Large backrooms are not built for stores anymore. More space is dedicated to the sales area or the footprint of the building is just reduced on newer or remodeled locations. Inventory systems are designed to bring merchandise into stores as it is needed to reduce storage and handling of product. Furthermore, I just don't understand the whole buying a cart full of water thing.
I witnessed person after person filling their cart with cases of water. My particular location will most likely be out of every type of water before the weekend. I get that some people may have poor quality water in their home but seriously does anyone drink out of the tap anymore? This shopping behavior is now spreading to categories beyond paper goods and water. I saw people stocking up on canned goods, boxed dinners, meat, milk, orange juice. Do people not keep a regular supply of food in their house anymore? Just sayin.
One other thing that I witnessed that really stuck with me was in our store's liquor department. A woman and I believe her adult daughter were shopping and the daughter selected a bottle of vodka off the shelf. She said something along the lines of we need to buy this, its sterile, we can wash our hands with it. I thought to myself, do you seriously not have any soap of any kind in your house? We are also sold out of ever-clear, this never happens by the way.
Just one last bit of interesting information, my boss told me that 30 minutes after President Trump's address to the nation ended sales spiked and stayed steady for the remainder of the evening. Honestly, most of this shopping and hording behavior in our area really ramped up when the NBA and other leagues started putting their seasons on hiatus. Then when it was announced that the NCAA canceled their tournament it picked up again and kept building.
People in this area always overreact to snow storms but on the other hand, in Wisconsin we never have to prepare for large natural disasters like hurricanes. People see others buying cart fulls of products and they think they need to do the same, a group think mentality. This is all being fueled by the media, social media, and general hysteria. Just watch this whole thing is going to pass, life will be normal, the sun will rise each morning like it always does and this will all be for nothing. Meanwhile the sweet old lady who couldn't fight the crowds to get her pack of toilet paper will eventually run out and have to ask her neighbor for some.
Thank You for everything you do Dan,
[Name Redacted]