Why did all the toilet paper disappear? Distinguishing between panic buying and hoarding during COVID-19

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to panic buying in many countries across the globe, preventing vulnerable groups from accessing important necessities. Some reports inaccurately referred to the panic buying as hoarding. Although hoarding is a separate issue characterised by extreme saving behaviour, the two problems may be influenced by similar factors. Participants from Australia and the United States (final N = 359) completed online self-report measures of panic buying, hoarding, shopping patterns, perceived scarcity, COVID-19 illness anxiety, selfishness, and intolerance of uncertainty. Our findings showed that panic buying was related to hoarding symptoms ( r ’s = .23 - .36), and yet, both were uniquely associated with different psychological factors. Whilst panic buying was most strongly related to greater perceived scarcity ( r ’s = .38 - .60), hoarding was most related to a general intolerance of uncertainty ( r ’s = .24 - .57). Based on our findings, future strategies to prevent panic buying should focus on reducing perceived scarcity cues in the community, as this seems to be the primary driver of panic buying. Another preventative strategy to reduce excessive acquiring and saving may be to implement educational programs to increase people's ability to tolerate distress and uncertainty.

If tomorrow never comes: the impact of anxiety, materialism and attitude on consumption behavior in a pandemic

“…Globally, governments have implemented measures restricting economic activities, lockdown and movement of people to curb the spread of the virus (David et al, 2021). These restrictions resulted in businesses shutting down, leading to job losses and a significant reduction in social interactions (Galea et al, 2020).…”

“…Mostly panic buying starts because of rumors or misleading information about potential shortages. The herd mentality ensures that the panic-buying behavior of some people is immediately copied by others (David et al, 2021). Panic-buying is triggered by the anticipation of scarcity of items or a steep rise in the near future because of information asymmetry (Song et al, 2020).…”

Exploring the Determinant Factors of Impulsive Buying Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Indonesian Consumers

“…When the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic, many shelves in superstores were emptied because of panic buying (David et al, 2021). Panic buying has caused the purchasing of huge consumer goods.…”

“…As an outcome of this highly uncertain situation, consumers exploit all online and offline channels to buy a considerable amount of products in anticipation of a hefty price increase due to the pandemic (Chua, Yuen, Wang, & Wong, 2021). Thereby causing an enormous shortage not only of medical supplies (Liu, Zhang, Huang, Zhang, & Zhao, 2020;Xiao, Zhang, & Zhang, 2020) but also food and daily (groceries) supplies such as toilet paper (David, Visvalingam, & Norberg, 2021). Interestingly, Carr (2020) even added that the US sales of guns and ammunition soar amid COVID-19.…”

Primera ola pandémica COVID-19 en Perú: compra de productos de primera necesidad, conocimiento, infodemia y factores asociados

“…Por otro lado, en Perú una de las cosas que más llamó la atención durante la primera ola generada por la COVID-19 fue el desabastecimiento de algunos productos, pues la "histeria colectiva" generada por las noticias de posibles cuarentenas, toques de queda y otras restricciones sociales, precipitó que las personas acudieran a diversos negocios y acaparasen diversos productos con la finalidad de abastecerse (Banerjee, 2020). Esta situación fue reportada por los distintos medios de comunicación, pasando en ese momento como un hecho anecdótico e, incluso, considerado gracioso en las redes sociales, ya que, múltiples poblaciones se abastecían de productos que generaron suspicacia del motivo de su acaparamiento, como, por ejemplo, el papel higiénico (David et al, 2021).…”