Grocery store limits on toilet paper and other products may be coming back: How Utah shoppers could be impacted

Nov 11, 2020, 10:26 AM

103.5 The Arrow's Jon Smith shared this photo of the mostly-empty toilet paper aisle at Target in Salt Lake City.

Former Reporter

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Some grocery stores are bringing back limits on things like toilet paper as Utah and states across the US are seeing another surge in COVID-19 cases.

Toilet paper limits

The change will likely impact Utah shoppers since Kroger is one of the major chains bringing back limits. Some of the things that will be impacted, as soon as this week, include bath tissue, paper towels, disinfecting wipes and hand soaps.

According to the company, the purpose of the limits is to combat any potential hoarding situations with these vital products.

“To ensure all customers have access to what they need, we’ve proactively and temporarily set purchase limits to two per customer on certain products,” a Kroger spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business.

Not only will the limit be in place for in-store purchases, but it also will apply to e-commerce orders.

Prepping for the next wave

A report from the Wall Street Journal indicates that some major chains started stockpiling supplies months ago, in case a widespread outbreak of the virus brought new restrictions.

The expanded fall orders came after many retailers were unable to keep cleaning supplies and toiletry items on their shelves this past spring.

One of the main culprits behind the toilet paper shortage was that people were simply hoarding. As city and state lockdowns tightened due to the coronavirus pandemic, some people started panic buying and filling their homes with exurbanite amounts of cleaning supplies. In fact, many global leaders with expertise in consumer product purchasing weren’t surprised, saying it’s a common reaction in a time of crisis. Simply put, people are looking for a sense of safety and security, which may be achieved by stockpiling household items.

Things certainly have improved since April, although periodically, empty shelves can still be found. A report from market research firm IRI indicates that around 16% of household cleaning products have remained out of stock across all retail industries in November. Additionally, the report indicates that household plastics and storage also remained low in supply over the past month, with an average of 21% of products out of stock.