Are Grocery Shelves Empty By You?

[2letterwords]

I'm in Lehigh Valley, PA. I normally shop at Giant but stock has been terrible in general. I switched to Shoprite last week and they are fully stocked.

 

[Christine]

I'm in Virginia. Everything looks good to me. Charmin TP seems to be low stock everywhere. I had a problem finding Philadelphia Brand cream cheese this weekend. Otherwise, no issues.

 

[Meriweather]

Some things not there, some sparse and some plenty of.
Arizona

 

[ronandannette]

Groceries are perfectly fine everywhere in my city but I did have trouble finding several small electronic devices/accessories this week. I'd imagine it's because all those type of items come from China where the shipping backlogs are the worst.

 

[J'aime Paris]

The more hype the media gives this, the emptier the shelves will be. They did a super job of creating consumer panic last March.

And now it's the Xmas toys.....

 

[MillauFr]

i'm in washington state. i'm seeing less products on the shelves and frequently items that are being listed on sale in weekly ads are entirely unavailable (and have been for weeks).

Yes I can't even get Fuji apples in Seattle. They can't get truck drivers to transport them a couple of hours???

 

[Sinder]

The more hype the media gives this, the emptier the shelves will be. They did a super job of creating consumer panic last March.

And now it's the Xmas toys.....

I agree that the media hype is over the top but there is a real supply issue going on.
Even our Transportation Sec is saying to expect it into 2022.
Consider yourself lucky if you haven't noticed it.

 

[kanerf]

Northern VA and Western PA here. Have not seen any shortages except occasionally for water.

 

[ftbaker1313]

I'm in middle Tennessee and I've definitely seen some empty shelves. some things have been out for several weeks.

 

[disney4us2002]

Interesting how many Marylanders post here. I have seen lots of empty or limited stock at my local Giant. My store is having issues keeping cereals and frozen vegetables in stock especially.

 

[Tapdancenanna]

no toilet paper or paper towels at Costco
grocery chains less than full....some products have only the front row half to full
SW Washington state

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

NE Ohio. I noticed our Meijer's store is running low on some things, but nothing too impactful. They've been low on pasta, sauce and canned tomato products since the pandemic started. They still have the items, just maybe not the preferred brands. When I was there this weekend, I saw more signs saying there was a limit of how many you can purchase. I noticed it in the breakfast sausage area, the keilbasa/smoked sausage area, paper products, eggs and milk, to name just a few.

 

[TwoMisfits]

i'm in washington state. i'm seeing less products on the shelves and frequently items that are being listed on sale in weekly ads are entirely unavailable (and have been for weeks).

That is true...I just got back from my shop, and all the regular priced stuff is there, but the bigger the sale price item, the more likely it wasn't there (which was annoying, b/c my oat milk was one such "really on sale" item, and now I'll have to pick it up elsewhere)...

 

[HopperFan]

Suburb of big city and shopping at big chain stores, no empty shelves but when you look for a specific item you might see it's not there and they have just spread everything out. I would say on any trip there are several items on my list completely gone. Doing a great job of hiding their lower inventory. So while they have the generic item, may not have the brand I want.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm in Louisville, KY - I shop at Kroger and the shelves are definitely thinner than they have been in the past, but aren't bare.

 

[easyas123]

Empty? No. A little thinner in some areas, though.

Another Marylander (upper eastern shore) here - I'm finding the same thing. Sometimes options just aren't as plentiful, but can always manage to find what I need. Our grocery store options are mainly Food Lion & Acme, and one Redners. Walmart, Target & Supper Giant if one wants to drive further out.

The more hype the media gives this, the emptier the shelves will be. They did a super job of creating consumer panic last March.

And now it's the Xmas toys.....

Agree. It's always something every year.

 

[Christine]

And now it's the Xmas toys.....

No kidding. When I heard that on the news a few weeks ago I just rolled my eyes SO hard. Nothing like preying on parents to get them to run out in late September and hoard toys.

 

[DuskKodesh]

South Ohio here. Every week I hit about 4 stores just running out and stopping for Starbucks or grabbing fresh greens. It's really location to location. My home Target is torn up, the toy section looks like swiss cheese there's so many holes. Another Target a half hour away not so bad. Meier near the house was out of a lot of stuff. Meier by the college had those things but then lacked other products entirely. It's a blessing that if I have to I can drive twenty minutes and find what I need. I was expecting worse.

I work retail, toy department, (Have for years formerly at Toys R Us) and the rumors are true. We are expected to run out of a lot of stock in November. Call was given to empty the warehouses so we are getting LOTS of stock but it's very much a mixed bag. Getting 16 boxes of Jurassic World Spinosaurs that have been collecting dust is not going to help someone looking for any other toy. Hot toys are rare to get in and go fast. It's not a rumor, it's not fear mongering. Stock is really going to be rough this year. I already told my family we aren't doing presents, just spending family time together and having good food. They agreed and I'm so glad.

 

[Christine]

South Ohio here. Every week I hit about 4 stores just running out and stopping for Starbucks or grabbing fresh greens. It's really location to location. My home Target is torn up, the toy section looks like swiss cheese there's so many holes. Another Target a half hour away not so bad. Meier near the house was out of a lot of stuff. Meier by the college had those things but then lacked other products entirely. It's a blessing that if I have to I can drive twenty minutes and find what I need. I was expecting worse.

I work retail, toy department, (Have for years formerly at Toys R Us) and the rumors are true. We are expected to run out of a lot of stock in November. Call was given to empty the warehouses so we are getting LOTS of stock but it's very much a mixed bag. Getting 16 boxes of Jurassic World Spinosaurs that have been collecting dust is not going to help someone looking for any other toy. Hot toys are rare to get in and go fast. It's not a rumor, it's not fear mongering. Stock is really going to be rough this year. I already told my family we aren't doing presents, just spending family time together and having good food. They agreed and I'm so glad.

I believe it's true. I guess I'm just tired of seeing the "alarm bells" on the news over and over again. I think it drives people to freak out that were maybe laid back about it. I honestly wish most people would just relax about the toy shortage and do what you're doing and stop feeling pressured.

 

[DuskKodesh]

I believe it's true. I guess I'm just tired of seeing the "alarm bells" on the news over and over again. I think it drives people to freak out that were maybe laid back about it. I honestly wish most people would just relax about the toy shortage and do what you're doing and stop feeling pressured.

Amen. I'd rather the toy dept. take the hit than be understocked on food and I'm tired of news outlets causing a rush with these viewership tactics. It ensures people overbuy and panic. Leads to a stressfull holiday on everyone. If toys are short kids will survive and hopefully still be happy and have a good holiday. Also makes it really rough on workers, we have a lot of people to deal with and some get sadly edgy and hostile about their shopping. They tend to take it out on us but we're kind of at the mercy of higher supply chain forces.