Where’s the toilet paper? Beaufort Co. stores seeing high demand as COVID-19 worries grow
As the worries of COVID-19 grow, stores across Beaufort County seem to be having trouble keeping a few items stocked on their shelves.
The main one? Toilet paper.
Stores across the nation are struggling with the same dilemma, according to national news outlets.
Shelves are empty in some parts of stores, looking the same way they do when a hurricane or snow storm approaches.
One employee at the Dollar General on Hilton Head Island recalled the run on products previously — during a hurricane.
The store’s shelf had very few packs of toilet paper left Friday morning, but she said the store would get its weekly shipment in later Friday.
Other stores, including Walmart and Target in Bluffton and Kroger on Buckwalter Parkway, had bare shelves Friday morning, too.
“Is this the line for toilet paper?” one woman asked, halfway laughing as she walked up to the paper products section where two other shoppers stood.
“Yeah,” they responded as employees began unloading boxes of newly arrived toilet paper.
Before the employees could set the products on the shelves, shoppers grabbed them and put them in their carts.
“We’ll be limiting it to four per person,” one employee said.
At other stores, notices to shoppers were posted along shelves of high-demand items such as paper products, flu medicine and hand sanitizer, limiting purchases for each customer.
.jpg "IMG_4847_(1).jpg")
Other products popular as worries of coronavirus grow, include:
▪ Bottled water
▪ Liquid hand soap
▪ Hand sanitizer
▪ Over-the-counter medicines for treatment of the flu and common cold
▪ Household cleaning products, such as bleach
▪ Paper towels
▪ Rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide
Online merchants, like Amazon, are also having trouble keeping up with demand for products like toilet paper. A search Friday morning showed multiple buying options, and brands for toilet paper were “currently unavailable.”
Other businesses in the area have been responded to COVID-19 fears.
Parker’s, a gas station and convenience store chain, sent a news release to remind customers that hand sanitizer is available at every gas pump and in the check-out areas of stores.
SERG Restaurant Group, Hilton Head’s largest employer, also sent a release noting the company is “discouraging all personal contact within our restaurants, including shaking hands” and providing health tips to their guests, such as washing hands frequently and avoiding touching their faces.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 12:18 PM.
