Some items continue to be sold out at stores...why? (home, buy)

[beach43ofus]

As I went about my shopping yesterday, I noticed the store was ~75% stocked. Why?

This has been going on for almost 3 weeks now. FLA is the HQ of Publix, and there are huge Distribution Centers all around Florida.

Every shopper around here has got to be stocked to the gills by now, so why arent the stores shelves full?

I was able to get Parmallat milk this time whereas last time 2 weeks ago, there was none, so some items are coming back.

I went ~1:30pm.

Is it too much demand for the supply?

Is it a supply chain issue where they just can't move product through fast enough?

Are we seeing shortages from manufacturers, growers, farmers?

Are there labor shortages? Nobody to stock the shelves, and all the product is piling up in the back?

The store I went to is in a sparsely populated area, so the shortages had me perplexed

[joshan]

With so much things being made over seas and this being a global issue. I would imagine it is harder to get imports on many of these products and are likely things we do not make here in mass.

No scientific data on this, just a thought.

[dave w]

I think it's a combination of things you mention, plus hoarding ,because of the worsening conditions. I read this morning that Kroger is giving temporary raises to employees. They must have labor shortages also.

[joshan]

Are essential items limited in Quantity there? Most everything that stores were running out of have been limited to one only for a couple weeks now. Seemed to help some when people are not just checking out with 2 carts filled with TP...

[Veniceman]

Originally Posted by joshan

Are essential items limited in Quantity there? Most everything that stores were running out of have been limited to one only for a couple weeks now. Seemed to help some when people are not just checking out with 2 carts filled with TP...

I think hoarders find ways around these limits. Some people get the limit, go out to there vehicle and unload the items and then go back into the store to get more items. They go through a different checkout so that they don't get caught. Either that or they bring in multiple family members who each buy the limit. There's no real way sans some form of a rationing system to stop this.

[MattMN]

I don't think it's hoarders, at this point. They probably have all they need.

My guess is it's a general supply chain issue. There is a new consistent demand for more grocery products. It's a big adjustment to the entire process to increase demand by 10 or 20% suddenly and consistently. It will take more than 2 weeks for it all to trickle down and get resolved. Larger supply needs to start all they way back with the manufacturers of products, and it may be a 2-6 week cycle to increase supply, depending on the product.

It doesn't seem to be a problem for any grocery items in particular. (Not counting TP and cleaning supplies.) I've seen milk, eggs, pasta out at times, then they are back the next day. It can be hit or miss depending on the item. But pasta and ramen and soup particularly seem to be popular - easy things cooking-challenged people can make.

[beach43ofus]

aha! I wondered why no pasta. Easy to cook and cheap. Makes sense.

[bbronston]

It could be secondary or tertiary hoarding. IOW, the most aggressive hoarders selfishly made things bad for everyone else and, when the replacement supply began to filter back, the ones who missed the first wave but had the same inclination, grabbed all they could. The more civic minded ones waited but found themselves fearing that they wouldn't be able to find what they needed on a normal basis so they now feel obligated to do their own version of hoarding. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that there won't be enough.

[Sunshine Rules]

I wouldn't put all the blame on hoarding. Remember, most restaurants are closed and people are being very cautious about take out and fast food these days. So many more people are cooking at home that normally wouldn't do so -- meaning more demand on grocery stores. I too have noticed that easy to prepare food items go quickly, as does frozen foods like chicken nuggets & bread and meats for sandwiches. Ground beef has also become a hot commodity, Publix is now limiting customers to 2 packages per visit at the stores near me.

[wondermint2]

Seems like overall (nationwide) the panic shopping is starting to die down (based on traffic studies). Although the article is based on national trends - so I'm not sure how well it translates specifically to our local area.

Traffic at Walmart, Costco and Target falls for the first time in weeks as coronavirus stockpiling behavior shifts:
https://news.google.com/articles/CAI...S&ceid=US%3Aen

Shopper traffic could climb again, though social distancing and e-commerce may keep consumers away from stores.

Traffic at Walmart Inc., Costco Wholesale Corp. and Target Corp. dropped for the first time in the weeks since the coronavirus pandemic ramped up in the U.S., according to Placer.ai.

Walmart traffic was down 6.7% year-over-year for the third week of March. The previous week, traffic was up 18.4%.

At Costco traffic fell 8.7% year-over-year for the third week of March. The second week of March, traffic jumped 34.7%.

And at Target traffic slumped 20.5% in the third week of March after climbing 19.2% year-over-year the previous week.

At each of the three retailers, traffic grew the last week of February and the first week of March.