CLARION CO., Pa. (EYT) — Shoppers may have recently noticed some empty shelves in local stores, as coronavirus fears have many residents stocking up.
Empty shelves — where essential items such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer formerly resided — were reported at the Walmart stores from Clarion to Punxsutawney to Cranberry in recent days.
With mounting tensions over the spread of the COVID-19 virus, shoppers have been stocking up on necessities.
While the larger stores like Walmart have been hit the hardest, some of the smaller stores in the area have seen some of the same trend, to a lesser degree.
“Sales on toilet paper and paper towels have really been taking off,” Jeff Baseline, assistant manager of Tom’s Riverside in Knox, told exploreClarion.com.
“We ordered a pile of hand sanitizer, probably two or three times what we usually get, and we still sold out. And, we can’t even get more now.”
According to Baseline, other items, like sanitizing cleaning wipes, have also been moving fast.
“Stuff like that has all really been selling,” Baseline added.
Bryan Burns, General Manager for Sharp Shopper in Knox, said that while they have seen a lot of people stocking up on hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and bottled water, they haven’t run out of anything yet.
“We tend to carry more than anyone else,” Burns said.
“This is pretty much the same this as we see before a big snowstorm, but this is different because it will probably last a while.”
Becky Colvin, one of the owners of Heath’s Market, in Oil City, said they hadn’t run out of anything yet as of earlier this week, but they saw some sales increase, as well.
“We have noticed more purchasing of things like Purell and toilet paper,” Colvin noted.
“There’s a lot of talk, and a lot of worry, but I think as with anything, good hygiene and hand washing is always important, and it looks like our customers agree.”
Judy Jordan, the manager of the Shop N Save store, in Punxsutawney, said they were having trouble stocking hand sanitizer, in particular.
“I don’t think anyone can get more at this point. It’s nowhere to be found.”
According to Bob Veley, store manager at Martino’s BiLo, in Brockway, the hand sanitizer shortage is an ongoing issue.
“I think it’s become more of a nationwide shortage. It’s hard to even order in now.”
According to Veley, while they were short on sanitizer, the buying spree hadn’t hit them as hard as some other places.
“We’re still stocked up and ready to go.”
