Curiosity got the better of me and I went to Costco to watch the zoo animals. Report from the Nampa, ID Costco:
Preface: Last week I mentioned I was at that Costco and other than long lines, I wasn't sure if people were hoarding or not. I can now say they were not, because I would have absolutely noticed. Ten seconds after entering Costco today it was obvious that there were panic buyers.
One third of shoppers were buying nothing but water and TP, with some throwing in a case of paper towels. And I mean LOTS of water and TP. I would WAG an average of three cases of water and three cases of TP per shopper. Some people were only grabbing a couple of cases of water and one of TP, but many were using the pallet carts and buying like half a dozen or more of each. I got there right when they opened. Looking at stock left, I'm going to guess they will run out again (see the link in my previous post) in the next hour or two. And they had LOTS of stock.
Another third of shoppers were grabbing maybe a case of water and TP, then just doing their regular shopping. Another third were just doing regular shopping.
I didn't see anyone grabbing sacks of rice and beans, which Costco has lots of. Or very many people grabbing cases of canned anything. For some weird reason, there was a run on peanut butter. Also people were buying the cases of pre-mixed protein drinks, but not touching the tubs of protein powder.
Batteries were fully stocked. There were two pallets of nitrile gloves, and not a single box was missing from the pallets. I suspect if there were N95 masks next to the gloves, those would have been gone. I didn't see anyone buying any of the various hand soaps Costco sells.
When I hit the checkout, I heard the checker tell the person in front of me (who apparently asked about the panic purchasing) that they were told this is happening in most all the Costcos across the country.
Meanwhile, on my way home, I stopped at my podunk grocery store for milk and did a walk-through. They were fully stocked on everything, including TP and water. They had a couple of pallets of water outside the store, and there was maybe 30% missing, which seems kinda normal to me. I couldn't even see a dent in the TP or paper towels. They were out of hand sanitizer though. Otherwise, business as usual. Have to wonder if it's a rural vs city thing or what.