Panic buying

[springyzone]

I was just reading a Coles report about their latest financial year and they mentioned the effects of Covid, panic buying etc and how they expect that to settle down more by 2022.

Now, I am in Melbourne, lockdown capital of Australia (although Sydney is catching up).

Here are my experiences.

March 2020. 1st round of lockdown. Shocking. Toilet paper was off the shelves for 5 weeks, unless you were in the right place at the right time. Being a senior, I was later able to pop in at 7am but even that didn't guarantee products on shelves.

Other things in short supply were mince, pasta, rice, pasta sauce, even cooking oil took a hit.

Second lockdown (the really long one) About mid 2020 to Nov: Initial panic buying but it settled down almost immediately. Never got to anything like the first time. I think media didn't harp on it as much so didn't set everyone off.

6th lockdown (now, Aug 2021). Not even a ripple as far as affecting buying habits. I guess most people know that the goods will still be there, there is no need to overbuy, although I guess most people have a spare pack of toilet rolls stashed away, they don't live as close to the edge as they once might have.😁

So.. what is the experience like for those in other states? Are they still having the panic buying each time a new lockdown starts?

[nicnacs_4u]

I also live in Melbourne and have noticed that there are many empty spots on the shelves in the supermarkets  whether there are less staff available to restock  or the goods  are taking longer to arrive  by truck I have no idea. You need lots of patience too as I have noticed that there are less staff monitoring the registers also!

[ambercat16]

I think there is a difference between "panic buying" where people buy much more of a product than they need for their short term use because they think it might run out, and "faark there's a lockdown I need....." buying which the media have tagged panic buying.

We have just had a brief (four day) lockdown in Darwin this week and the supermarkets were very busy in the few hours before the lockdown officially started  but it was people buying what they needed for the next few days, not what I consider panic buying.  

[countessalmirena]

There does seem to be a continued focus on toilet paper... but I have seen a much calmer response to lockdowns in Melbourne this year in terms of not emptying the shelves in supermarkets.

We have steady supplies of toilet paper, hand sanitiser, masks, dry goods. I think Melbournians have worked out that their need for post-excretion back-end consumables, so to speak, is not going to increase to the point of needing a 5-year supply of toilet paper, and the world isn't going into a pastaless and riceless Armageddon right at this moment.

                

[springyzone]

I wonder what it is like in Sydney?

Our local shopping centre (which isn't huge but has 3 supermarkets) has not had any empty spots or short supplies of anything that I have noticed.

I can live with lockdown (it even has its advantages in that you know you're not getting unexpected visitors if you're still wandering around in your dressing gown at 10am), but I found the run on grocery items last year very draining and annoying.

[papermoon.lady]

I haven't noticed any panic buying here either this time. Plenty of toilet paper too. I guess people have learnt.

[wide-world-of-stamps]

No panic buying here (1 larger and 1 smaller supermarket), but deliveries to replenish some stock seem to be a little slower than usual.

[katistrophik]

Where I am in Sunny Coast Q, the supermarkets now place a restriction on the amount of "panic' products that can be purchased, since the first debacle where everyone seemed to think a 2000 rolls of toilet paper was the cure for COVID.

We don't have it too bad here, and really feel for those of you who are going through all this yet again.

[papermoon.lady]

In these or similar situations we always have to hope that there are no silly people starting the hoarding trend (again) because then other people decide that thinking is not an option and just do what the silly people do like sheep.

[domino-710]

It's possible the idjits who hoarded in the first place are still wading through their stash. 

All good here on the South Coast NSW - no empty shelves - no panic buying.