empty grocery store shelves again

2 years ago

I noticed today that it looks a lot like last year - haven't seen this situation in months. Just more surge impact on the supply chain I guess. I also read somewhere that people are stocking up on TP again - must have burned through their inventory. Or maybe just more hoarding inspired by the Delta surge.

Featured Answer

3katz4me
Original Author

2 years ago

My latest shortage: We bought an electric vehicle and are getting the wall charger installed today. Our electrician alerted us that the devices that are needed to hookup the off peak meter are no where to be found and no idea when they will be available. Fortunately he can install the charger and everything else that's needed except the missing part and we can use regular rate electricity until he can finally get one. We're supposed to get the car in about a month but he didn't sound optimistic that the device would be available by then.

We've been living in the land of plenty for a long time and most of us have had the good fortune to enjoy all that entails. So much so that more and more storage buildings are going up everywhere around me. Unlikely to hurt any of us to "go without" and it might even do us some good in the long run.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (41)

sushipup1
2 years ago
I don't think there is hoarding. Another factor seems to be short staffing in stores. One of our local stores looks like it's decimated after the weekend, and it takes three days to restock. I won't go in that store until late in the week. Our other local store is a bit better.
maddielee
2 years ago
Mondays are usually the worse day to shop here. Inventories haven’t been replenished after weekend shoppers hit the stores.
Related Discussions
grrrr...wasted my time at the grocery store.
Q
Comments (27)
Like a few here, I'd much rather grocery shop than shop for clothes!!! I'm not a one-stop shopper though. My main shopping is done at the Commissary at MCAS Miramar, once a month. That's what we call "Stock up". Then we shop Wal-Mart's food section (limited; we don't have a Super Wal-Mart yet, and though they're planning one, the town criers are lobbying against it). I shop sales and fresh stuff at Stater Bros and Henry's (like a Wild Oats), but will only go into Vons if they have a really good sale on something I need/want (like the red seedless grapes they have today). Wal-Mart, Stater Bros, Henry's and Vons are all within a half mile of my house so gas is not at issue. If Albertsons has something good, there's one on my way home from work, but normally that's not a stop. To Claudia near Bakersfield: I hear ya. My DH and I used to live in a small town in Arizona with one grocery store. Decent grocery prices were 70 miles away, down in Tucson or in Phoenix. We used to make a once-a-week run to Tucson for a class I had to take, so we'd take a cooler along and stop at the grocery store before class. Also, my daughter broke a bottle of Worcestershire in one of our cars about 6 years ago. Whew! It smelled until the day she wrecked that car! DonnaR/CA
...See More
when you go to the grocery store, put one item back
Q
Comments (31)
Attention, shoppers! If you take a half-gallon of fudge ripple ice cream from your supermarket's freezer case and then remember you are on a diet, don't leave it to melt on the rack where the tabloid magazines scream "Tom Cruise Marries Alien!" Likewise, in a department store, if you suddenly realize that a pink poncho will be passe in a month, don't fling it over a display of men's socks and walk away. Nor should a four-pack of 60-watt light bulbs be wedged between the boxes of fettuccine and ziti. For a few minutes, pretend I'm your mom -- your shopping mom: Were you raised in a barn? Will you never learn to pick up after yourselves? Stop rolling your eyes and look at me when I talk to you! Listen up: More and more of you are not putting things back where they belong when you go shopping. It happens at high-end and low-end and everything-in-between stores. It occurs in supermarkets, clothing stores, toy stores, stationers and any place where merchandise isn't too heavy to lift. It even goes on at the Gap, despite clerks -- only those with eyes in the backs of their heads are hired -- who attempt behavior modification in customers by pointedly refolding polo shirts milliseconds after they are mussed. It occurs even in bookstores, where, as in libraries, there are often tables or carts with posted pleas to place unwanted books on them so that people who know exactly where they should be shelved can do so. Still, you'll find a John Grisham tome next to "101 Ways to Cook Cauliflower." Especially during sales, the dressing rooms of department stores look like pigsties -- clothing in dumping grounds on the floor or falling off hangers and hooks -- because customers won't even return them to collection racks at the mouth of the dressing room so employees can restock them. Don't make the excuse that everybody does it. What if everybody jumped off a cliff? Would you? Experts who study what is called "shrink" -- the term for inventory loss due to shoplifting, employee theft or error, and damaged or "distressed" items -- estimate that less than 1 percent of all shrink is caused by shoppers who act as though they are royalty being shadowed by a maid. (A major grocery chain has about $500,000 worth of shrink a year, according to recent studies.) This number would be higher if alert shoppers and employees didn't see wrongs and right them, says Larry Miller, president of Trax Retail Solutions in Scottsdale, Ariz., and national director of the National Supermarket Research Group. Miller estimates that shoppers (acting as mothers the world over do) or store employees rescue about 60 percent of dumped grocery items. "Most people don't look at a pound of ground beef sitting on a grocery store shelf and ignore it. They take it back to the refrigerated meat section," Miller contends. "This has always been a problem, and it occurs at all stores no matter where they are," says Barry F. Scher, vice president of public relations for Royal Ahold NV's Giant Food LLC chain. He notes that the cost for supermarkets is especially high when the item involved requires refrigeration or freezing. Even though employees are instructed by managers at various times during the day to scout for misplaced items, perishables most often have to be thrown out because it is not known how long they've been sitting around. Scher says that Giant stores don't have staffers dedicated to performing the task called "shop backs" but that it takes employees away from other duties. "Stores also lose out because the stock isn't where someone can find it and sell it," says Jon Schreibfeder, president of Effective Inventory Management Inc. of Coppell, Tex. This means that, to be confident that they have enough of any product, managers must overstock items. Schreibfeder, whose company advises retailers on ways to control inventory, says that although the practice isn't nearly as large or troublesome as shoplifting or employee theft, "we talk about the [dumping] problem continually" with clients. Schreibfeder's prescription has been to have his clients schedule regular "stock straightening" for several times a day, especially when the store isn't busy. He also said a retail customer in Bermuda learned that nothing works as well as a departing ship in making people evacuate a store, leaving stick deodorant next to the asparagus. "A cruise ship would come in and the passengers would begin shopping. They'd find they were running out of time and would leave stock scattered everywhere," Schreibfeder recalls. He and his employees helped the store employees realize that they should scurry to round up misplaced products in between dockings. He also advised the owner to mark shelves that were most often victimized by shoppers and to have employees combing those prone areas. Schreibfeder says it's conceivable that, down the line, radio frequency identification (RFID) might be able to beam out an all-points bulletin (APB) to store managers, saying, in effect: "I'm over here -- and I'm defrosting!" to help in the roundup. Both Schreibfeder and Scher are inclined to be soft on consumers who dump products thither and yon. "People these days think they are too busy. Everybody's in a rush," Scher says. But Dorothea Johnson is unforgiving. Johnson, founder of the Protocol School of Washington and an etiquette teacher for 40 years, says we all must put things back because it is right and proper and is a tiny thing we can do to keep the world from chaos. She can think of no excuse for not returning merchandise to its shelf. Practicing this daily has the side effect of increasing self-esteem, she says. "Oh, you see, not putting things back is not being mindful of the next person who comes along. Although salespeople are trained to watch out for such things, I always put things back. I can then tell myself I did the right thing," says Johnson from her home near Portland, Maine. Even parents who spend the livelong day harping on children and spouses about tidying up can slip up now and then and ignore their inner Miss Manners. The other day, in a fit of fitness, someone left a pound of bacon next to a mound of tilapia packages after glancing about the store furtively to see if anyone was looking. But do as I say, not as I do. And don't run with a stick in your hand. You'll poke your eye out.
...See More
Chopped bagged salad mixes not available in my local grocery store
Q
Comments (70)
Yes we removed the outer leaves of both cabbage and iceberg but we always thought of iceberg as being very 'tight' like cabbage and thus not dirty inside. never found dirt inside either. I also stopped buying iceberg for awhile because I heard there were 'fewer nutrients' but really it's full of fiber and it makes a good addition to other greens and I do find it kind of nicely sweet too.
...See More
Conversations with checkers at grocery stores
Q
Comments (149)
I'm not sure what's happening here any more, but I am not getting any notifications from Houzz, except for ones that I signed up for. I would like to add, however, that I have known a few people who take casual conversations with strangers a bit too far, and this includes my father and maternal grandmother, who were very much alike and therefore hated each other. Both of them would talk way too much with (or to) people that they did not know and share way more information than the innocent victim wanted to hear. I do not feel that I am like either of them, and I like to keep conversations mutual. I am as interested in hearing what the other person wants to say as I am in sharing information with that person. For me, sharing is a two-way street, and I am not interested in creating traffic jams. OTOH, I have also been the victim of people who want to share too much information, especially when stuck next to someone on a plane. Sometimes this can be excruciating but other times it can be entertaining. I've heard some very funny stories from people on planes, as well as some very boring ones.
...See More
3katz4me
Original Author
2 years ago
Yeah, the weekend rush isn't a factor where I shop though perhaps it's become one with the shortage of workers. Speaking of that, the store we shop at by our lake cabin has eliminated the deli and prepackaged everything for self service. They have also reduced their hours because of the lack of workers. I just about want to hug everyone I see at the store who is willing and able to work. Short of that I thank them profusely and otherwise try to make their day a little brighter.
Springroz
2 years ago
The trucks are not bringing the products. I think this is a problem at the distribution centers.
pricklypearcactus
2 years ago
I also experienced TP shortage at the store recently. There was still TP but the type I prefer was gone. I also keep running into tofu shortages. (I'm a vegetarian so it's a bummer for me when I can't find any firm/extra-firm tofu.)

I also purchased two outdoor lounge chairs that were in stock and showing delivery date for this week. The cushions were a separate item in the cart. I received a shipment email for the cushions and suddenly the chairs are back-orered until the end of Oct. When I clicked on the shipment tracking link the chairs are now showing March 31-April 14!!! What the?! How can they back-order something for 6 months and not even notify me?! I'm assuming it's a supply chain issue.
palimpsest
2 years ago
There are staffing issues and supply chain issues all over. There is a restaurant near me that is closed not for lack of business but for lack of staff. This particular one had staffing issues before covid but after covid they did not have enough reliable staff to stay open. It's a diner so it's not high tipping (but the food was not overly cheap either.) And our local basic chain supermarket also has staffing issues for both on-the-floor and cashiers. Often when I go there will be one cashier line and you have to go through the self service (which I usually do, but it's driving a lot of people who have full carts to do self service instead of limited to ten items.
DLM2000-GW
2 years ago
I haven't seen any evidence of hoarding but there are indeed empty spaces on grocery store shelves that vary day by day. As most have said it seems to be a combination of supply chain and staff shortage. Lots of restaurants here have changed their hours to reflect low staffing and some even post a sign saying Closed due to staff issues. I feel for all parties - businesses can't operate without staff consistency, people can't leave young children and child care is either too expensive or risky or they have staff shortages as well.
Tina Marie
2 years ago
We are not seeing issues with lack of products in area at this point. Lack of staffing, yes, but we have seen that more out-of-town than here at home. I still order groceries, but go to produce market and meat market. There's not been anything I haven't been able to get. I have TP set up on Amazon for regular delivery (along with a few other items) and that works great. I had a delivery last week. We don't hoard, but we are always stocked. I will say that products are going up; both food and the mr. has noticed several increases in wood and various metals, etc.
salonva
2 years ago
I too have noticing lots of empty shelves (and not only in supermarkets). Around here, I do believe it is severe staffing issues.
blfenton
2 years ago
I haven't noticed a short supply of products but there is definitely a staff shortage.
morz8 - Washington Coast
2 years ago
Clearly staffing shortages here. I did notice very low stock on all things dairy when in an organic market I particularly like in my mothers city last week. We made a second stop at a Fred Meyer and they weren't fully stocked with dairy either. (it was a Tuesday) I bought their last quart of heavy cream with an extended use by date on it.

We were at Trader Joe's and Costco a week ago yesterday and Trader Joe's had no mirepoix diced and ready to go. Not a crisis, it's not like I can't chop my own, only that some days I prefer not to. Costco had TP but no paper towels - or no paper towels out for purchase. I don't know if they needed some brought out from the storeroom or if really truly out. I wasn't completely depleted here at home and we'll be close to there end of this week so I can check again. I don't think we use a large amount of paper towels, but we have storage room and I've bought paper goods no place other than Costco for so many years now, it's hard to change ;0)
Oakley
2 years ago
This is a good article

I noticed the other day when I placed my order the store had only Clementines or naval oranges. Didn't want either.

They were out of Boost which has never happened. ;) Many items were limited to 1.

Last week on GMA they advised ordering Christmas gifts early, especially toys. It has to do with shipping from China and other countries.
jojoco
2 years ago
No Bounty paper towels at my store. Very little heavy cream and half and half. There was a note saying there is a nationwide shortage of heavy cream and half/half. Very limited amount of dry dog food too.
cooper8828
2 years ago
There were no onions this week. Like none. I was talking to one of the employees and he told me due to staffing shortages at the warehouse the stores are very limited on how much they can order.
Tina Marie
2 years ago
Bounty towels is another item we order off Amazon (along with the TP, dishwasher and laundry detergents). Oh no @jojoco! I hope not! I use half-and-half alot in cooking; even more so in colder weather (soups, etc.). I bought half and half this past week. I'll have to ask my shopper this week about the shortage.
schoolhouse_gwagain
2 years ago
Even Dollar General has shortages. Now that is something, usually they have all kinds of "junk" on the shelves and cartloads in the aisles waiting to be unloaded and stocked. Ours in town is 2/3 grocery store these days. They even have produce now!

I am just now on my last pack of my pandemic TP supply. I was going to wait before I bought more but sounds like I should go shopping tomorrow.
gsciencechick
2 years ago
Seriously, a bidet toilet seat was one of our best pandemic purchases! Highly recommend. We have a Brondell, but there are others.

Our local supermarket is adjusting its hours because of the worker shortage. We have received notice that some Boar’s Head products will have supply issues, and we have a hard time getting Peter Pan peanut butter of all things.
deegw
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
DH was mentioning the other day that he felt unease like he did at the beginning of the pandemic. But I reminded him of the deserted roads and wiping and quarantining groceries because we weren't sure how it spread. At school, we went to extraordinary means to keep the kids separate and safe.

So, IMO, it's still stressful but not like the early days.

I have personally noticed decimated grocery shelves after a weekend but haven't had any trouble finding our regular items.
bbstx
2 years ago
After my grocery pick-up last week, I stopped by the liquor store to get Cointreau and limoncello. It looked decimated. There was no Cointreau and no limoncello. Many of the shelves and racks were empty. I have not been in a liquor store in more than a year, so this may not be a new problem. At our cookbook luncheon the next day, someone said it was a problem with bottles; there is a shortage of bottles.

My daughter still grocery shops. She says the shelves are looking bare at Costco and at her local supermarket.

Has anyone tried Boxed? I heard about it on a podcast maybe a year ago. 12 double rolls of Bounty paper towels at Boxed are $26 (free shipping). The same at my local Walmart is $20. With that price difference, why would I use them?

Our local gift/decor store posted on IG that they would be closed 3 days this coming week due to staffing shortages. The owners have to be out of town for a family event and there is no one to cover for them!
just_terrilynn
2 years ago
At the beginning of the pandemic there were shortages but nothing now. Well, there is a few things but I'm not sure if it's due to Covid or an excuse not to. Costco is not longer offering all the vegetables on their pizza. The only choice is pepperoni.. There are many little things that are no longer offered in local establishments.
bpath
2 years ago
The manager of the wine department at my local grocery store said that there is a shortage of glass bottles, and shipping delays are causing all kinds of problems.
hcbm
2 years ago
I noticed empty meat and poultry sections at a local supermarket on Sunday. There was little left of any type of meat to buy. I also wanted cinnamon raisin bread and Fage yogurt. The only loaf of bread left was squished, and there were only three containers of yogurt left. I usually shop in the suburbs and have seen few shortages. I was surprised. I believe that it is a combination of low supplies and an employee shortage. Unionized supermarkets seem to have more workers.
DLM2000-GW
2 years ago
Just returned from the store and noticed more empty spaces. Not full on empty sections or aisles but blank spaces here and there. One item on my list, malt powder, is unavailable and according to the manager the last time they were able to get it was Jan. 2020. Obviously not a life altering product and I'll do without. But the manager told me they are only able to order what the manufacturers are producing and many have limited their selections dramatically due to staff issues and are focusing on their most popular items. Makes sense. Then we had a short conversation about the state of the grocery business. In addition to not being able to order everything, deliveries come in with items missing, getting everything out on the shelves quickly is more difficult due to staff issues and people expecting that the front of the store should continue to run as always which means short lines and new registers opened to keep it that way which pulls people from the back who then can't stock the shelves. So the big take-away is we all need to be more patient, look at the big picture (we're certainly not missing meals here) and be willing to use a different brand of TP which is not something I'm going to get my panties in a bunch about!
Zalco/bring back Sophie!
2 years ago
DLM we buy malt powder on Amazon, no problems.
DLM2000-GW
2 years ago
Zalco exactly what I planned to do!
Oakley
2 years ago
Buying pet food from Amazon has become a c**p shoot. Having it delivered is much easier than getting it at the store. I've also noticed Amazon is higher priced on just about everything, and I thought they were supposed to be competitive.

I know I could order from Chewy but sometimes I don't qualify for free shipping, and I prefer how I can use my checking account at Amazon.

Their delivery process has definitely changed. Many delivery notifications now say, "Will be delivered by 9pm tonight." Uh, no one delivers here in the evenings. :)
tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM
2 years ago
I have resorted to maintaing a certain minimum stock level at home of things I use regularly as there seems to be no rhyme or reason to what is available when. There are certain stores I visit more infrequently, so I will stock up a little more just in case. There was a period of time when finding gluten free soy sauce was very difficult, so when there was stock, I grabbed more than usual. I decided late in the game that I would do some canning this year so I had to just go down the aisle every time I was at Wal-Mart to check to see if the lids were back in yet. There seem to be problems everywhere with the supply side. All Domino's in the area were out of ham for the pizza, water softeners have been on back order, Barq's root beer was often not in stock anywhere, etc. Gatorade has also been pretty low in stock for a while.

While I keep hearing about labor shortages and see we're hiring signs everywhere, when my 20 year old was filling out applications at those low level places, requests for interviews were few and far between.
Jilly
2 years ago
Grocery shelves here are pretty bare, our small Aldi’s especially. I’ve also noticed Ama.zon Fresh being out of my normal purchases often. On a whim, DH and I stopped at our local Bed, Bath, and Beyond last Saturday — the cleaning section looked like it had been plundered after a zombie apocalypse.

We had to run into Home Depot, it looked normal. The construction boom here is going strong, both commercial and residential. DH is an electrician and is being run ragged. It’s seriously cutting into his Project Potting Bench time. :D
salonva
2 years ago
I usually buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk at Costco or BJ's and am usually very well stocked on those. Even before the pandemic, but since the pandemic I make it a point to have a good supply on hand (of just about everything). So, I am down to about 4 rolls of Bounty and kept meaning to pick up some more. Reading about the bare shelves on this thread in particular, I went to Costco yesterday and they must have just restocked because the paper aisle was full (though there was a sign of LIMIT 1) so I got my bundle of Bounty and now we are good.

Also, I looked and saw that they had plenty of half and half as well.

Back to the bare shelves though, I am noticing it more and more in many stores and I do attribute it to the staffing shortage. I was in Walmart a few days ago and they had so much empty shelving and the aisles were full of cartons with merchandise to be put out.
Tina Marie
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
@oakley when we had our little pup, I loved Chewy! Mostly for treats and supplies though as our pup ate fresh food (chicken) and we bought high quality dry food at a local pet supply place. It takes a while for a little dog to go through a bag of food! Just a word of caution, I would be careful about using my checking account on line. I have one credit card used for on-line purchases. Our UPS guy often delivers late evening. Fed-Ex, not so much.

@tishtoshnm Zone 6/NM that is a change I made last year during the worst of the shortages. We have a good size pantry and I started keeping more items stocked up. I order TP, paper towels, detergents, etc. from Amazon and get the larger packages. I have some items set up on subscription. I've not been out and about in many stores, so I can't comment on supplies here, but I haven't heard any complaints. @Jilly construction is going strong here also and I have heard about the sky-high prices of lumber, etc. My husband was comparing prices of various metals he orders (business) and it's crazy the increase in some.
terezosa / terriks
2 years ago
Yesterday my local Costco was completely out of TP, except those huge industrial size rolls.

As far as no more veggies on Costco pizza - they apparently are streamlining their food court choices. A year or so ago they got rid of their Polish dogs, and now only have regular hot dogs. They also now only have vanilla frozen yogurt - they used to also offer chocolate.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
There is a shortage of truck drivers, which is having a big impact on many store's inventories. It's something that's been building for awhile too...

https://www.fmlfreight.com/truck-driver-shortage/

"...Why is there a shortage of truck drivers?

In order to talk about how we fix things, we have to first look at how we arrived here in the first place. Lots of people are under the impression that the shortage of long haul truck drivers is a recent and direct result of the Covid pandemic. Although the pandemic exacerbated the shortage, it’s been brewing for years.

Driver demand exceeded supply by around 60k in 2019 and has hovered in that range over the past couple of years. As large as that number is, it’s actually projected to get worse in the coming years. We could see that number nearly triple in the next 5 to 10 years if we don’t work on the solutions to the truck driver shortage now.

What is the main reason behind the trucker shortage?

One of the main drivers in this discrepancy is that our current drivers are retiring faster than new drivers are signing on. If we want to effectively tackle the trucking shortage, we need to increase the size of the talent pool being groomed to take the place of retirees.

In addition to those in the ranks that are retiring, there are other forces that are causing our current freight drivers to ditch their lives on the road. Modern improvements that have made freight transport safer have also led to some truck drivers losing jobs. Things like in-cab cameras, driving time limits, and increased drug testing sometimes weed out drivers. Those who can’t hack the new technology and its requirements fall to the side and need to be replaced...."
Lars
2 years ago
I have not noticed any problems or shortages at all when I have been shopping lately. The CVS in Westchester that I go to had a huge selection of TP. I did not notice any shortages of anything in Coachella Valley last week either, and we will be going back there on Sunday.

Interstate 10 was packed with trucks last week-end, and so I could not tell that there was a shortage of truck drivers.
terezosa / terriks
2 years ago
I was in Target today, and they had tons of toilet paper, so maybe just a Costco problem.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
2 years ago
There have been lots of news reports of cargo ships backed up at ports too.
mtnrdredux_gw
2 years ago
I've not seen any product shortages, but a lot of places with labor shortages curtailing hours (esp in Maine with the seasonal help gone).

What i do notice is more gaps in shelves then usual. I never realized it before, but US grocery stores are really kind of odd. They constantly restock so as to look as if nothing has been purchased. I don't know when or why that became the standard, but it is what we are used to.
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
2 years ago
A number of economists have noted many of these shortages and delays are regional. I could see how SoCal might be relatively OK, since so many goods are produced there.
blubird
2 years ago
Several school,districts in NJ have had to change their school schedules due to a lack of bus drivers. Many of the former bus drivers have gone into the trucking industry with their CDL licenses as they pay better.
gsciencechick
2 years ago
Another good take on it:

Supply Chains
carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
2 years ago
This was in Marketplace.org's newsletter today:

"A traffic jam like no other

Sixty-two. That’s the number of ships lined up in the Pacific Ocean right now, waiting their turn to get into the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California.

And the crush is not only happening on the West Coast. Ports in New York and New Jersey are approaching capacity. “Yes, we are always acutely aware … space on the terminal is not infinite,” Sam Ruda, director of the Port Authority, told “Marketplace.”

It’s begun to cause holiday panic for importing retailers and their shoppers alike. “If you see toys that you think your kids are going to want for Christmas … pick them up now and tuck them away,” Ed Desmond of the Toy Industry Association told television station KTLA this week.

There may be better entry points for cargo right now, one analyst told us, mentioning the ports of Savannah, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Houston.

Related reading or listening: Congestion at U.S. ports means there’s now a shortage of shipping containers (Aug. 11, 2021)"

empty grocery store shelves again

3katz4meOriginal Author

Comments (41)

Related Discussions

3katz4meOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

3katz4me
Original Author

3katz4me
Original Author