MEMPHIS, Tenn. — As coronavirus cases tick up, could we once again see panic buying with a shortage of paper products? Here in Memphis, there is discussion at one major retailer of possibly limiting the amount of toilet paper and paper towels you can buy at select stores.
Toilet paper and paper towels once again seem to be a hot commodity. Just this week Walmart said they’re seeing some shortages of the goods at select locations in the country.
Kroger, the largest grocery chain and staple here in the Mid-South, says they haven’t started limiting items as of now.
“But you could see some changes soon,” said corporate affairs manager Teresa Dickerson.
The limit of how much bath tissue or paper towels paper towels you can buy would only be for select stores in the Memphis area.
“We know some of our stores have been hit pretty hard when it comes to paper goods,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson could not say which stores would be affected. But Dickerson is clear the company is confident in the supply chain, and Kroger employees are working around the clock to keep shelves stocked, especially during this busy week before Thanksgiving.
“There’s no need to panic buy. We are very confident in the supply chain and we are working extremely hard to make sure we are putting items on the shelves for our customers,” Dickerson said.
We also reached out to Walmart locally to see if stores are affected here. A company representative sent us this statement late Thursday:
“As we would normally do during periods of high demand, we are working through our best-in-class supply chain to replenish items as quickly as possible. Our efforts include diverting products to areas as needed, coordinating supplier deliveries directly to stores and taking several other measures to help us meet the needs of our customers.”