How are Fort Worth grocery stores keeping shelves stocked during coronavirus outbreak?
On Sunday morning, some shelves at the Target on West Seventh Street were nearly empty.
A few boxes of pasta remained. The choices between canned vegetables were practically limited to green beans and corn. There were no eggs, and much of the dairy aisle empty. Meat was gone, except for bacon and lunch meat.
The shelves also showed what people won’t buy even during a pandemic: frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, frozen fish and canned clam chowder.
Big retailers have asked consumers not to hoard food or supplies, saying it’s unnecessary. No shelter in place order in the country prohibits people from taking trips to the grocery store, but people began stocking up in case they were ordered to self-quarantine or undergo 14 days of isolation.
Because of people stockpiling in droves, shelves across the country have become bare.
Rodney McMullen, CEO of the supermarket chain Kroger, told Marketplace.org that consumers should buy what they need, and that’s it.
“(There’s) no need to go and hoard because cows are still producing milk and the farmers are still growing products and it’s still flowing across the country,” he said.
But still, on Monday morning, about 100 people lined up outside of Sam’s Club on Bryant Irvin Road in Fort Worth waiting for them to open — with many people not practicing social distancing (standing 6 feet apart and avoiding large gatherings).
Every empty toilet paper and cleaning supply aisle tells us that consumers aren’t listening to McMullen’s plea. And seeing empty shelves at a major retailer at 9 a.m. on a Sunday begs the question: How are national retailers keeping up with the public’s demands?
Keeping shelves full
At Target, customers are limited in the amount of dry goods (like pasta) and toilet paper they’re allowed to purchase. Even with the six-item limit, if shoppers aren’t in the right place at the right time, they’re likely to miss out (there were only a few boxes of wipes on Sunday morning and no toilet paper).
In a statement about how it is keeping shelves stocked, Target said the company is “fast-tracking the flow of products that are in highest demand, including food, medicine and other essentials.”
Walmart said officials are “working to replenish those items quickly, including diverting products to areas of the country where they are needed most and routing deliveries directly to stores. We have also authorized our store managers to manage their inventory, including the discretion to limit sales quantities on items that are in unusually high demand.”
When asked what specifically Kroger was doing to keep shelves stocked, a spokeswoman said: “We are using third party distributors throughout many of our departments to meet the demands of the customer. For example, we are using local DFW bread companies like Village Baking Co. to help keep the stores stocked with products.”
Like Walmart, Target and many other big retailers, Kroger has placed limits on certain products.
Aldi Chief Executive Officer Jason Hart said in a statement, “In the midst of increased demand and challenging supply, we are focused on the products you are likely to want most: water, pantry staples, pre-made meals, cleaning supplies, toilet paper and more.”
There is plenty of toilet paper
Shoppers began stockpiling around the first weekend of March and haven’t stopped since. Every time a new restriction is announced by state or local governments, grocery stores find themselves packed with people.
Karan Girotra, professor of operations at Cornell University, told USA Today that panic is the biggest enemy.
“If everyone thinks things are going to run out, they go and buy out things and they do run out,” she said.
Per Hong, a senior partner in the strategic operations practice at Kearney, a global management consultancy, also told the newspaper that there is no shortage of toilet paper — just people buying too much too quickly.
“We have plenty of toilet paper to go around,” he said. “Those supplies will be fully restocked and my ability to go to the store to get those supplies isn’t going to go away anytime soon.”
The National Grocers Association sent grocery chains advice for how to operate safely, including asking customers to stand 6 feet apart while in line, limiting the amount of toilet paper and cleaning products customers can buy at a time, providing hand sanitizer and cleaning off work stations more frequently.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
