Panic buying

Panic buying is: “the action of buying large quantities of a particular product or commodity due to sudden fears of a forthcoming shortage or price rise. “

Panic buying isn’t a good thing for anyone, especially for people who need these products urgently. When people buy massive amounts of items out of fear, it impacts the supply chain heavily as quite often they can not keep up with the demand. It also prevents other customers from purchasing these products.

A good example of this was the toilet paper crisis at the start of the COVID 19 Pandemic. People were rushing to their local supermarkets to stock up on toilet paper. This left many retail stores with empty shelves. Furthermore, it left the more vulnerable people like the elderly, who can not go out shopping due to the risk of catching the virus, without access to toilet paper.

Panic buying is never advised, as it doesn’t help the community or the companies.