A man looks for products at a supermarket after panic buying due to the Coronavirus.
Chris Putnam | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Colorado has yet to report any cases of the new coronavirus in the state, yet consumers there are already stockpiling more powdered milk and cans of soup than in Washington state, where at least nine people have died due to the virus[1].
But Coloradans aren't the only ones stocking up on canned goods and cleaning supplies.
Hand sanitizer sales have skyrocketed 619% nationwide in the week ending March 1, according to data from marketing firm Catalina, which compared the sales of 33 products to the same period a year ago. Disinfecting cleaners and wipes have seen their sales more than double. Grocery store and retailers are trying to prevent shortages from "panic buying"[2] as more cases of the virus are confirmed in the United States.
Across all 50 states, Washington, as the only state with reported deaths from the COVID-19 virus so far, is seeing the biggest sales spikes in shelf-stable food products and cleaning and medical supplies, Catalina data found. Hand sanitizer sales have surged 836%. Powdered milk sales have nearly quadrupled, and chlorine bleach sales have more than doubled. Sales of dried beans and grains, as well as rice, have climbed 84%.
California, as the state with the most overall cases, has experienced similar trends. John Bagan, the chief merchandising officer of Gelson's, the upscale southern California grocery chain, said that sales for shelf-stable products and health and first aid supplies began picking up last week.
Consumers are buying up items like disinfecting wipes, beans, pasta, tuna and toilet paper....