How much people are spending on emergency coronavirus supplies
Americans are spending about $178 to stockpile supplies for what they expect will be a long social-distancing stretch due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shoppers are spending that money on cleaning supplies, food, water and paper products like toilet tissue.
People are also buying medications, alcohol and entertainment items like movies, a LendingTree survey of 1,000 Americans found.
The spread of COVID-19 has forced some parts of the U.S. to implement so-called shelter-in-place orders. The World Health Organization is encouraging people to practice "social distancing," which means not gathering in larger groups.
About 63% of Americans have visited a grocery store to purchase goods for their indoor stint, LendingTree said. Millennials, or shoppers between the ages of 24 and 39, spent an average of $195 per trip, while baby boomers spent $151. People with children spent an average of $190, and those with no children spent an $181, the survey found.
High income earners spent the most to prepare for the virus. Households that bring in $100,000 or more spent $220 on average, while families earning less than $25,000 spent $153.
Baby boomers may be to blame for supermarkets experiencing a toilet paper shortage, LendingTree said, because eight out of 10 of them admitted to buying paper products during their shopping trips. Toilet paper makers Georgia Pacific and Procter & Gamble said they have plenty of product in stock.
