Major Australian retailers limit toilet paper pack purchases per customer
Panic buying of toilet paper amid coronavirus fears has led to supermarkets imposing a cap on how many packs you can purchase.
Panicked shoppers have been caught on video pushing and shoving one another to get their hands on toilet paper packs.
The product has bizarrely become one of the most in-demand household items in Australia with people stocking up amid coronavirus fears.
Footage captured inside Woolworths Revesby, in Sydney’s south-west, shows customers scrambling to grab packs of toilet paper around 7am on Wednesday.
While some shoppers are “panic buying”, others are simply just in need of the toiletry good.
To make it “fair”, Woolworths has restricted customers to four packs per person.
“So I just went to Woolies (in Perth) and found there’s a 4 packlimit on toilet paper during this ‘shortage’. Our store only had a few 4 roll Kleenex $7 packs which I had to succumb to due to 6 kids! What the heck (sic),” a mum wrote in a budget Facebook group.
Woolworths confirmed to news.com.au it has capped four toilet paper packs per customer after many of its chains had been wiped clean of the product.
Packs sizes vary from two to 30 rolls.
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A spokesperson said it was to ensure “more customers have access to the products” and would not only be applied in-store, but online too.
“It will help shore up stock levels as suppliers ramp up local production and deliveries in response to higher than usual demand,” the spokesperson said.
“Our teams are continuing to work hard on restocking stores with long-life food and groceries from our distribution centres.”
However, the spokesperson confirmed the vast majority of the products in its range remain available for customers as normal.
“We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused by temporary stock shortages and thank them for their patience.”
Bulk goods supplier Costco has also set restrictions with customers being told they can only buy a maximum of two 48-packs of toilet paper.
The main stores that have been wiped clean of the product are Costco in Auburn, NSW, and stores in Canberra.
Costco today. pic.twitter.com/6yAPKgBzH6
— David Cao (@DavidCaoEV) March 3, 2020
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“We are in Auburn today and we have sold out of toilet paper in about three hours, so it is happening,” Costco Australia managing director Patrick Noone told The Australian. “It is happening in a few Costco buildings.”
Mr Noone said the US supply chain was restocking the in-demand product everyday with factories and vendors shipping as much as they can as quickly as they can.
Costco sources its toilet paper supplies from Kimberly-Clark but is also seeking supplies from other vendors to plug the gaps in its warehouse stores.
On Tuesday, a Twitter user posted an image that showed tissues, eggs and A2 3.5L light and full cream milk also capped with shoppers only allowed to buy two “per member, per transaction”.
Mr Noone told the publication that sanitisers, disinfectants, oils, rice and flour were also “selling very well”.
A Coles spokesperson told news.com.au they have increased deliveries from their distribution centres and teams are “working hard to fill the shelves as quickly as possible”.
Video footage of its Hornsby store in Sydney shows staff frantically restocking toilet paper packs.
Only one word to explain this... #idiots#coronavirus #toiletpaper pic.twitter.com/J8U3EZLYYS
— Bewitched Angel & Katherine Quirke Photography (@abewitchedangel) March 3, 2020
Empty shelves at local Coles. Rice/Pasta/Flour/UHT Milk/Milk Powder/Noodles/Toilet Paper/Paper Towels/OTC Medicines all gone. Many shoppers are stunned at the scenes. #panicbuying #coronavirusaustralia pic.twitter.com/MEzFevrf29
— David Cao (@DavidCaoEV) March 2, 2020
Staff block off the aisle as they frantically replenish toilet paper supplies at Coles Hornsby last night. #toiletpapergate 📸: Russell Neale pic.twitter.com/BkdNQTaIDh
— 10 daily (@10Daily) March 3, 2020
“Coles is in ongoing contact with suppliers, government stakeholders and transport partners to determine how best to improve availability on popular products, such as long-life pantry staples and healthcare items,” the spokesperson said.
“While there may be some temporary stock shortages, the vast majority of products in our stores and via Coles online remain available for customers.”
Aldi are yet to confirm if they too have enforced purchasing restrictions on certain goods.
Images circulating on social media showed Aldi also hit with toilet paper shortages.
In the Aldi Mums Facebook group one woman simply asked “What is wrong with people?” as she shared two photos of empty shelves.
It showed an entire row of missing napkins and other household goods.
“Panic buying causes hysteria. People who really need these products won’t be able to get them because of this madness,” the woman wrote.
Hundreds of members commented on her post, agreeing that the reaction to the virus was “just ridiculous” and “insane”.
An Aldi spokesperson told news.com.au on Monday it was “monitoring the situation like all responsible retailers”.
AFL WAG Rebecca Judd also took to Instagram to talk toilet paper with her nearly one million followers.
“Guys, for real. This is the Brighton Coles and there’s no toilet paper,” the mother-of-four said in an Instagram story.
She then zoomed in on a tiny section on one shelf that stocked just a few packs of toilet paper.
“There’s a bit left so I’m grabbing it all, just down there,” she said. “That’s it, that’s where the toilet paper usually lives.
“Oh, my God. Imagine not having any toilet paper. Far out.”
Judd then shared an image of three packs of toilet paper she bought, adding, “People were stocking up on toothpaste and long life milk too.”
Extreme “panic buying” has been sweeping Australian supermarkets for the last few days as people rush to stock up in a bid to protect themselves from the deadly COVID-19 virus.
The virus has now spread to 33 new countries in the past nine days — bringing the total number of affected countries to more than 60.
The world death toll is 3087, with the total global cases reaching 92,863 and 48,469 recovered as of Tuesday, according to Worldometers.
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