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Coronavirus: Are people panic-buying? Coronavirus: Can you stop people stockpiling?
(3 days later)
As coronavirus, and the fear of it, continues to spread, there are a growing number of reports of empty shop shelves as people rush to buy products such as hand soap, loo roll, pasta and rice. Around the UK, shoppers are emptying shelves of toilet paper, pasta, hand sanitiser and tinned foods as fears grow over the spread of the coronavirus.
Some supermarkets have reported seeing spikes in demand, amid concerns there could be shortages. Chemists have even started rationing sales of hand sanitisers after stocks ran low. A government minister has said there is "no need" for stockpiling, but can panic-buying be controlled?
So how widespread is the trend, and are consumers right to be so concerned?
How many people are panic-buying?How many people are panic-buying?
It is hard to say, but according to a survey from Retail Economics, as many as one in 10 UK consumers is stockpiling, based on a sample of 2,000 shoppers. It is hard to say, but research by BBC Radio 4's PM programme found that one in three people is concerned about having access to enough food if they have to self-isolate.
Meanwhile, research by BBC Radio 4's PM programme found that one in three people are concerned about having access to enough food if they have to self-isolate. And those worries have already led to apparent shortages. Shoppers from around the country have sent the BBC photos of bare supermarket shelves where they live.
Social media is full of reports of empty shop shelves and on Wednesday, staff at one supermarket branch near London told the BBC it was "madness" as customers cleared the shelves of rice, pasta and long-life milk. Social media is also full of reports of empty shop shelves, and some supermarkets have begun restricting the sale of certain goods.
Most of the big supermarkets aren't commenting on whether they are seeing panic-buying. But earlier this week online supermarket Ocado said shopping slots were being snapped up more quickly than usual which was understood to be linked to fears about the virus. Similar scenes have also been seen in other countries such as Australia and the USA.
Ocado said people were placing "particularly large" orders but stressed there was no shortage of food. Can the government stop stockpiling?
On Thursday, John Lewis said its Waitrose chain was also seeing higher demand and was working with suppliers on "an hourly basis" to keep up. This is a new situation, so the government's powers to deal with it are so far untested, according to Paul Dobson, from the University of East Anglia.
Finance director Patrick Lewis said the firm was planning for a whole range of outcomes in case of a severe coronavirus pandemic - although he said the business was well set up to deal with whatever was thrown at it. But he said he expected the government would speak to supermarkets to secure a series of voluntary agreements on issues around supply, and limiting panic buying.
In other countries shoppers have also been clearing the shelves of staples, but especially toilet paper. Australian supermarkets resorted to rationing the precious commodity. "The government could have quite a useful co-ordinating role, and I think that's what's needed in the market to produce some stability," he said.
And that appears to be the approach that the government is taking.
"The environment secretary will hold a further call with chief executives from the UK's leading supermarkets and industry representatives on Monday to discuss their response to the coronavirus," a Department for the Environment spokeswoman.
"The meeting will discuss support for vulnerable groups who may be in isolation."
What are shops doing?
The response from retailers has varied dramatically.
Several shops have introduced sales restrictions on certain items, to avoid selling out completely.
For example, at Tesco, shoppers are limited to buying no more than five of certain goods, including anti-bacterial gels, wipes and sprays, dry pasta, UHT milk and some tinned vegetables.
Meanwhile, Waitrose has brought in a temporary cap on some items on its website, including some anti-bacterial soaps and wipes.
Boots and Asda are both restricting some types of hand sanitiser to two bottles per person.
But Sainsbury's has still not limited any purchases.
When will products be back on the shelves?
"Whilst there might be empty shelves at the moment in the shops, over the next week or so, we will see them replenish," Dr Andrew Potter, from Cardiff Business School, told the BBC.
"The supply chain will start to deliver stuff through to the stores and hopefully this shortage - which is fairly short term - will clear and everything will be back to normal again."
Jan Godsell, from the University of Warwick, also said that the initial spike in demand is likely to be short-lived.
She said people bought items like toilet paper and pasta to stockpile but then were likely to stop buying.
She said the "unknown" was labour, questioning what would happen if 20% of the workforce was taken ill, a situation the government has factored into its plans.
"Then we might need to make some decisions about where in our supply chain we use those [people]," she said.
Watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority has warned retailers not to "exploit" fears about coronavirus by dramatically increasing the price of protective goods like hand gels and face masks.
Why are people rushing to buy?Why are people rushing to buy?
On parenting website Mumsnet, several people have admitted to panic buying, in case they have to spend two weeks at home in self-isolation.On parenting website Mumsnet, several people have admitted to panic buying, in case they have to spend two weeks at home in self-isolation.
"I'm a prepper! It's all things we'd normally use. Having a few extra, that I've been buying for a while, will mean not having to buy it for a while once this blows over," said one user."I'm a prepper! It's all things we'd normally use. Having a few extra, that I've been buying for a while, will mean not having to buy it for a while once this blows over," said one user.
Another said it was other panic-buyers that had persuaded her to take action.Another said it was other panic-buyers that had persuaded her to take action.
"I have to admit, I started buying extra when this first started. Purely because panic-buyers will wipe the shelves (no pun intended!!). Pasta, UHT milk, cereal etc I've been ordering extra. If nothing comes of it, I just don't need to buy it for a while."
Denys Skirtach, 18, from Norfolk told the BBC his family spent £80 on Wednesday stockpiling eggs, pasta, rice, toilet paper and canned goods.
He said they also planned to stockpile ibuprofen, soap and hand sanitiser, storing it all in their garage.
"We are worried the coronavirus will spread across the UK and the supermarkets will be left without any food. We don't want to run out of the essentials.
"We saw on one of the news sites that supermarket shelves were emptying so we thought we'd better stock up.
"I wouldn't say we are panicking. We are preparing for the worst-case scenario."
Are shoppers right to worry?
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said UK supermarkets have "well-rehearsed contingency plans" to deal with events like the coronavirus outbreak and to make sure products are available in stores.
"Come into your local supermarket, and buy your normal weekly shop," said Andrew Opie, the BRC's director of food and sustainability.
Meanwhile, former Sainsbury's boss Justin King said the "surest way of creating shortages" is people panic-buying.
"If you look at things like toilet paper and dried pasta, in the short-term, if everybody buys an extra packet, that's going to cause gaps on the shelves, because the systems will take a day or two to respond but in very large part, the system will catch up."
According to Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, there is "absolutely no reason" for people to panic-buy. The government has contingency plans for the unlikely event that large numbers of people are quarantined.
What do I need to know about the coronavirus?
But Jan Godsell, professor of operations and supply chain strategy at WMG, University of Warwick, told the BBC that in a worst-case scenario there could be an impact on supplies.
"If our workforce is reduced by a fifth [which the government says could be the case] then there are likely to be some constraints," she told the BBC.
In that scenario, she says it would be logical for supermarkets to focus on delivering a narrower range of products and collaborating on things like deliveries to ensure supplies get to where they're needed.
The government, she said, needed to be more upfront to stop people panic-buying, which would only make matters worse.
"When people know they're not being told the truth, they are more likely to panic-buy, so in this situation honesty is the best policy."