Coronavirus Panic Shopping: People Still Buying When They Have What They Need
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - No matter which store you hit, you'll be pressed to find the essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, and bread. And if you're looking for hand sanitizer and wipes, good luck.
"Whenever we do get new rations in of hand-sanitizer and wipes, we actually put them out by the registers- and they go within minutes," said Avi Kane, the co-owner of Morton Williams Supermarkets.
One analytics firm says online sales of "protection" items like hand sanitizer, gloves, and anti-bacterial sprays, shot up 817% in January and February because many people couldn't get them in stores.
"It's pretty hectic I would say. A lot of the frozen vegetables, cleaning supplies, even to a certain extent, meat and dairy are hard to come by," said shopper Chase Hicks.
"People are like freaking out over it. It's just like, chill dude!" said shopper Adrian Calixto.
But many aren't finding it easy to "chill" especially when everything seems heightened. At the WinCo in Elk Grove, shoppers could be seen wearing masks as they fill their carts. At the Costco in Sacramento, they're spraying and wiping down carts.
"There's kind of a social anxiety," said psychiatrist Anil Sharma.
Sharma is the medical director at Dignity Northridge Hospital in Los Angeles. Sharma says when some people see the crowded parking lots, long lines, and empty shelves, it triggers an unreasonable response to run out and follow suit. Experts say it's important to realize this situation is temporary.
"Rather than going into this anxious or obsessive mode, they should think rationally," said Sharma.