Has anyone actually witnessed anyone stockpiling/panic buying?

[sunfloweryy]

I’ve seen a few extreme photos on twitter but nothing in my local shops. However everyone I speak to is saying ‘Oh I’ve just picked up a couple of extra bits just in case I can’t get them when I need’ etc.

Is it not more that millions of people are picking up slightly more than what they usually would rather than a few selfish people are sweeping entire displays into their trolley?

Or am I being naive

Definitely a bit naive - my partner works in ASDA and the stories he's been telling me make me ashamed to be British at the minute. Truly vile behaviour going on.

I've seen trolleys full of bottled water. Everything else... It looked like more shopping than usual, but nothing excessive.

It's both I think. Certainly DH has witnessed people doing full on stockpiling but this was in the first few early weeks before they brought restrictions in. E.g. someone came into Home Bargains and bought the entire stock of hand san that was out on the shelves, a few boxes worth. I know someone who knows someone who works in a supermarket and someone came in and spent over £500 on baby formula. DH also saw people with trolleys stacked high of huge packs of toilet paper. People making multiple trips to their car with multiple trolleys of shopping from multiple supermarkets that are side-by-side in our local shopping area.

@jmscp A staff member in an Asda here was punched in the face for not letting a customer buy more than the limits set. Some people have just gone nuts.

I haven't seen anyone stock piling at all.

Pensioner out in my local supermarket yesterday had trolley piled full of Easter eggs for some reason

Yes, boxes and boxes of sugar and bottled water.

Yes. A couple of weeks ago. A trolley packed full of all the pasta in the supermarket - a Lidl, not a huge shop. And all the peanut butter. I haven’t been able to leave the house since then to see with my own eyes.

I haven't and thought it's mostly people just picking up a bit extra on a few things, which has the accumulated effect of wiping out stock levels.

But friends who work in supermarket are telling me different.

In Tesco on Friday the limit was 3 of anything, which for some stuff is still too many.

and I did scan and shop and they didn't check.

I saw one family buying up Asda - five boxes of cornflakes, 2 x 5 litre bottles of cooking oil, masses of kitchen/loo roll, enough meat to fill a chest freezer, etc etc. It was fucking surreal.

In the days when panic buying had just started, a lady in front of us in Asda bought 4x 18 packs of toilet roll. Did she need 72 toilet rolls? Who knows.

I overheard a man saying"oh this is the only place I have been able to find soap"

He had over 10 bottles in his basket

I'm sure some people have been "panic-buying" but honestly, given we've been told whole households might well have to self-isolate for two weeks, it's not surprising people are buying more.
Also a lot of pensioners head to the shops every day to get their food. Now they're being told to reduce social contact, so suddenly are doing weekly shops.
I don't think supermarkets were prepared for the big change in customer habits.

@MeadowHay wow. That's appalling. Is it any wonder the supermarkets arent enforcing their rules.

My pharmacy had an appeal for someone in security to stand on the door because people were not respecting their policy of only 2 people in at a time. Door security at a pharmacy ffs!

My brother manages a supermarket and has seen some ghastly behaviour. 48 super noodles for example... I think scurvy will get that person before COVID19 does

On Friday in Lidl, there was a man with 4 packs of 15 eggs.

I also think it's a bit of both. Some people have stockpiled and others have bought a bit extra here and there when shopping and/or going more frequently, which will have an affect on stock levels.

I've also just mentioned to DH, that even without Coronavirus, if the entire population was asked to work from home where possible, and with children not in schools (and those that are being asked to take a packed lunch), that is a huge change in shopping habits and distribution of food.

I have. Unless the lady walking down the near aisle genuinely needed 3 chickens, 3 packs of mince, 3 packs of burgers, 3 packs of sausages etc. Same with tinned food with other people.

I have also seen people sprinting down the aisle to be the first to get to something.

I have also been rammed with a trolley when I stopped to let another lady cross the aisle to get some grapes. The 'lady' who rammed me then barged past me to get to the grapes before the other lady. Apparently she 'had no time to stand around dithering when she had a shop to do'. That was during the hour for the elderly and vulnerable.

Man in Lidl on Friday trying to buy 14 chickens from the fridge meat bit. I think the limit is 2 per person and he began to get really abusive and threw them at the cashier when he was restricted from purchasing.

I've seen a woman take all the bags of dried pasta as the assistant put them on the shelf; she already had a whole tray of soup (the cardboard trays they come packed in)

I have seen very little actual panic buying, although I don't doubt it is happening. I think as others have said, the main reason that the shelves are empty is because of the cumulative effect of everybody just buying a bit extra, plus the massive change in consumer habits. People who would usually do small daily shops are trying to limit their social contact by doing larger weekly shops. People are also having to ensure that they are prepared to potentially self isolate their entire household for 2 weeks with zero notice and in the knowledge that there are no grocery deliveries available for many people. I think the view that the supply issues are purely because millions of people are selfishly and needlessly buying up dozens of packs of soap, loo roll, paracetamol and pasta are a bit simplistic.

*IS a bit simplistic.

I work for Tesco, this morning the queue to get into the store was snaked nearly all the way round the store and car park and the police were there to control the crowds. I have never seen anything like it in my life

About 2 weeks ago, saw a car parked on a grass verge where cars aren’t even supposed to park (as it’s not part of the road, just a green space in front of houses) on my road and 2 people were unloading the car. The entire back seat was filled with toilet rolls and the whole boot was full of bottled water. Seemed quite over the top. Not sure what they are planning to do with all that. I know people are preparing for quarantine but tbh if I’m going to be stuck in the house I can think of much better things to have than toilet roll and bottled water!!

My partner had to go to 6 different supermarkets over the space of two days as they were so stripped bare we couldn’t get our normal weekly shop.
Doesn’t help that both dcs have allergies and there are so many selfish people buying up the free from foods when they don’t actually need to.
Money is tight for us so there is certainly no panic buying or stock piling.