Panic Buying- Why We Do It
Yesterday was the first day I experienced the true hysteria that lives within supermarket walls. After work, I went to the grocery story next door. While parking, I could see and feel the panic in patrons. Everyone was walking very quickly to get a cart, there were only 3 left. The cleaning and paper goods aisle were quite popular, despite the fact you couldn’t find a roll of toilet paper or any disinfectant wipes.
Over at the frozen foods section, pizza choices were very limited, and the frozen veggies were gone. I headed over to the soup section and eureka! I proceeded to throw cans upon cans into my cart, then caught myself in a moment of crazy. Do I need all this soup? Why? Calm down. I felt the hysteria I had witnessed on the way in. I was one of them
Psychologists can explain it in 2 words: Retail therapy.
Wow, I feel better already. We’ve lost all control, and this makes us feel like we’ve gained a little back.
Please, read on… it’s really interesting!
And now for some comic relief (always theraputic)
Not really sure why people are saying stores are out of toilet paper. My local store has a bunch in stock pic.twitter.com/DravPYlUZO
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) March 13, 2020
Yesterday I went to a Costco store, where I stumbled across this couple loading their pickup with piles of Lysol wipes. They hit up all the local Costcos daily, clearing shelves of wipes/liquid cleaner and re-selling them on Amazon. https://t.co/sYQhfxkUrG via @torontostar
— Douglas Quan (@dougquan) March 13, 2020
I panic bought some beer today, but I panic drank it all. Now I’ve got to panic buy some more tomorrow.
— Pat Condell (@patcondell) March 7, 2020
