Panic shopping begets more panic shopping. At several stores, shoppers expressed shock at the amount of toilet paper that had been bought up. Then they loaded up what they could into their carts because they were afraid there wouldn’t be any left if they needed it.
At Target, one young woman, her cart overflowing, said she’d spent $80 or $90 on toilet paper. Another woman picked out one jumbo pack — with 96 rolls’ worth of paper — for work and another for home. Outside of Target, an employee sat next to a huge rolling cart with four jumbo packs — 384 rolls’ worth of bathroom tissue.
“I know it’s a serious thing,” said Kelly Vore, who was manning the customer service counter at the west side Walmart, “but I guess people think they’ll go months without toilet paper.”
Shoppers rush to pick up toilet paper that had just arrived at a Costco store, Saturday in Tacoma, Wash. Within minutes, several pallets of toilet paper and paper towels were sold out as people continue to stock up on necessities due to fear of the coronavirus.
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“I guess with this coronavirus thing, people are concerned about their (behinds),” one grocery store worker said, rolling her eyes.
Laurie, a manager at the west side Albertsons, said one woman had purchased $450 worth of toilet paper. At Ridley’s, another woman bought 15 packages and said she planned to mail them to relatives in Montana, where stocks are apparently depleted. The entire scene seemed like an apocalyptic Black Friday.
It’s not just toilet paper. All eight stores were entirely out of hand sanitizer. All were out of rubbing alcohol. Most were out of face masks. Target was out of gloves too. Disinfectant, bleach, alcohol swabs — all had been picked clean, leaving exasperated employees who said they had exhausted their supplies.
