Panic buying of toilet paper hits U.S. stores again with new pandemic restrictions

[November 21, 2020]  By Lisa Baertlein and Melissa Fares

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toilet paper aisles are emptying again as COVID-19 curfews and shutdowns in states from California to New York send pandemic-weary shoppers on a new scramble for essentials.

Walmart on Friday said it was "seeing pockets of lower than normal availability" for toilet paper and cleaning supplies in some communities as infections rage virtually unchecked across most of the United States.

As of Friday afternoon, 22 states have imposed restrictions aimed at decreasing spread of the virus - giving rise to a new round of panic buying from shoppers and purchase limits from retailers including Target and Kroger, the nation's largest supermarket chain.

Shoppers in a half dozen cities around the United States told Reuters that disinfecting wipes were sold out at discount retailers like Walmart and Costco, as well as at Cerberus Capital-owned grocery chains Albertsons and Vons.

"Walmarts are still mostly out of Lysol wipes, and toilet paper is out again," said Whitley Hatcher, 31, a collections specialist in Tucson, Arizona.

"Oddly though, at places like Walgreens and Dollar Tree you can find what you need. I think people are seeing the empty shelves at bigger stores and panic buying," Hatcher said.

At a Costco in Vancouver, Washington - where new rules include temporary bans on indoor dining - out-of-stocks included toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning wipes, gloves and Spam canned meat.

And the toilet paper hunt is on again in California, where the governor on Thursday ordered a curfew placed on all indoor social gatherings and non-essential activities outside the home across most of the state.

Household provisions are seeing in depleted quantities with nearly empty shelves at a department store in Washington, D.C., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Gavino Garay/File Photo

Shoppers said toilet paper was sold out at Costco stores in Fresno and Los Angeles.

In San Diego, internet marketer Melin Isa took note of renewed shortages during a recent ice cream run to her local Vons. "The TP aisle is bare. Big jugs of milk mostly gone. Lots of ice cream," Isa said.

Charmin maker Procter & Gamble, the No. 1 U.S. toilet paper seller, said it is running plants 24/7 to meet demand.

Over the last several months, retailers have had to make major, costly changes to their supply chains to meet unexpected surges in demand.

In a response to a tweet complaining about sold out toilet paper and paper towels, Walmart's Sam's Club said, "We're working to replenish these items as fast as humanly possible."

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles and Melissa Fares in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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