Americans keep investing in the one thing that always hits bottom: toilet paper.
Panic buyers are on a roll again, wiping out grocery stores’ shelves of toilet paper amid increasing state and city restrictions in response to surging coronavirus numbers. IRI, a market research company, said 21% of U.S. store shelves were void of toilet paper this week.
When Walmart makes a statement about “seeing pockets of lower than normal availability,” you know where this is headed. Target and Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chains, already have begun purchase limits after seeing what the spring hoarding did to the toilet paper supply. Disinfecting wipes also are sold out at Walmart, Costco and grocery chains in many cities, according to Reuters.
Procter & Gamble, the nation’s leading toilet paper seller, announced that it is running production all day every day to meet the demand. Retailers have invested millions in applying lessons from the spring to alter supply chains for this wave.
“A more informed consumer combined with a more informed manufacturer and a more informed retailer should provide all of us with a greater sense of ease and ensure we can meet this growing demand,” Consumer Brands Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman told Associated Press.
Yeah, not so much.
But a North Carolina school’s parent-teacher association made the best of the situation. At Hildebran Elementary School, a PTA fundraiser sold 1,080 boxes of 24-roll toilet paper packages for $10 apiece.
“It beats the devil out of the catalog sales,” Principal Randy Sain told WSOC-TV.
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