On Thursday afternoon when Ryan Ozawa hit the Iwilei Costco next door to his office in Hawaii, he ran straight into a long line of carts stretching the length of the store as shoppers waited for toilet paper and paper towels.Costco employees were limiting shoppers to five packages of each and hand loading them into carts. As pallet after pallet was cleaned out, one shopper at the end of the line shouted out: "The end of the line for the toilet paper and paper towels is right here."Ozawa had to give up and return Friday morning when the store opened to snag a stash of toilet paper and paper towels for himself and his co-workers. With so many of the state’s food and goods imported, panic buying is common whenever a hurricane or other emergency threatens Hawaii. “Local health officials told us not to panic buy and not to freak out," Ozawa, 45, communications director for tech firm Hawaii Information Service, said, "and that was enough to get us to go out and buy everything.”Similar scenes have played out across the country and around the globe in recent days as consumers, heeding warnings from health officials, equipped themselves with basic necessities in case the coronavirus spreads to their community.Shoppers reported stocking up on medications, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, face masks, surgical gloves and pantry staples. Social media was filled with photos of shelves emptied of flats of bottled water.Coronavirus hits tech companies:Google employee tests positiveCoronavirus name association:‘Corona beer virus’ and ‘beer coronavirus’ searches increase as fears of outbreak spreadCoronavirus threat could empty shelvesMore widespread shortages could hit retailers in the coming weeks, experts warn, which could drive up prices."Further delays in the restart of production could begin to result in out-of-stocks at U.S. shelves as early as mid-April," Wells Fargo analysts wrote in a recent report.Advice to consumers: If something is "mission critical" to your life, get it now, says Sam Polakoff, president and CEO at Nexterus Inc., which sources supplies for companies. “If the price hasn’t increased yet, it probably will soon," he said. "Likely, prices will go up 25 to 30% temporarily.”Retailers are wrestling with shortages as shoppers strip shelves, pushing suppliers to help them restock quickly. CVS said in a statement to USA TODAY that it is seeing increased demand for hand sanitizer and face masks but no "significant shortage" of disinfectant wipes and sprays.Used car vs. new? These 10 vehicles have obvious answers Dear passwords: Forget you. Here's what is going to protect us instead Quality of life: These 50 cities are among the best places to live in US How scammers could use coronavirus scare to steal your money The Daily Money: Subscribe to our newsletterShortages won't be limited to basic necessities. Electronics, apparel and housewares, all of which are reliant on China, said Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, a retail co
Coronavirus fears empty store shelves of toilet paper, bottled water, masks as shoppers stock up
On Thursday afternoon when Ryan Ozawa hit the Iwilei Costco next door to his office in Hawaii, he ran straight into a long line of carts stretching the length of the store as shoppers waited for toilet paper and paper towels.Costco employees were limiting shoppers to five packages of each and hand loading them into carts. As pallet after pallet was cleaned out, one shopper at the end of the line shouted out: "The end of the line for the toilet paper and paper towels is right here."Ozawa had to give up and return Friday morning when the store opened to snag a stash of toilet paper and paper towels for himself and his co-workers. With so many of the state’s food and goods imported, panic buying is common whenever a hurricane or other emergency threatens Hawaii. “Local health officials told us not to panic buy and not to freak out," Ozawa, 45, communications director for tech firm Hawaii Information Service, said, "and that was enough to get us to go out and buy everything.”Similar scenes have played out across the country and around the globe in recent days as consumers, heeding warnings from health officials, equipped themselves with basic necessities in case the coronavirus spreads to their community.Shoppers reported stocking up on medications, cleaning supplies, hand sanitizers, face masks, surgical gloves and pantry staples. Social media was filled with photos of shelves emptied of flats of bottled water.Coronavirus hits tech companies:Google employee tests positiveCoronavirus name association:‘Corona beer virus’ and ‘beer coronavirus’ searches increase as fears of outbreak spreadCoronavirus threat could empty shelvesMore widespread shortages could hit retailers in the coming weeks, experts warn, which could drive up prices."Further delays in the restart of production could begin to result in out-of-stocks at U.S. shelves as early as mid-April," Wells Fargo analysts wrote in a recent report.Advice to consumers: If something is "mission critical" to your life, get it now, says Sam Polakoff, president and CEO at Nexterus Inc., which sources supplies for companies. “If the price hasn’t increased yet, it probably will soon," he said. "Likely, prices will go up 25 to 30% temporarily.”Retailers are wrestling with shortages as shoppers strip shelves, pushing suppliers to help them restock quickly. CVS said in a statement to USA TODAY that it is seeing increased demand for hand sanitizer and face masks but no "significant shortage" of disinfectant wipes and sprays.Used car vs. new? These 10 vehicles have obvious answers Dear passwords: Forget you. Here's what is going to protect us instead Quality of life: These 50 cities are among the best places to live in US How scammers could use coronavirus scare to steal your money The Daily Money: Subscribe to our newsletterShortages won't be limited to basic necessities. Electronics, apparel and housewares, all of which are reliant on China, said Neil Saunders, managing director of Global Data, a retail co
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