Coronavirus In Pittsburgh: Retailers Say Once Frenzy Dies Down, They Can Restock Shelves
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The tighter the restrictions get, the more shoppers are trying to make sure they are ready for a possible lockdown. That is putting major stress on the supply chain to groceries, and big box stores who are being hit hard daily.
The trucks came in overnight and stockers put the products on the shelves as quickly as they arrived. So when the stores opened this morning, the early birds made a beeline for the most in-demand items.
It was a scene played out in stores all over the region but far from the weekend frenzy. Gillian McTiernan from Pittsburgh's North Side says, "It was a little bit less hectic today than it has been the past couple of days."
With the overnight stocking, you could find chicken, beef, bread and eggs where yesterday there were only empty displays.
Lyndsay Stunja says today she, "Got in, got out, spent a little more than I plan on it but stocked up for the next week or so."
Of course, the products can't appear on the shelves without the supply chain.
Trucker Bill Chambers of Shaler arrived with his rig at Kuhn's in Ross Township feeling the pressure.
"Yeah, I feel like there are a lot of people who need a lot of food," he says. "All of the stores are going empty and we have to deliver to all of 'em."
Chambers says it means bigger loads that aren't slowing down. "I have 17 skids full of food just for two stores."
Ben Bowman can relate. He says stores are ordering more and his daily stops are doubling: "I'll hit about 20, my usual is ten."
Retailers say as the frenzy dies down (as it appeared to do a bit today) they will have a better chance to get the store shelves restocked.
The biggest issue is until a supply truck arrives, they have no idea how much of what they ordered is arriving. And at this point, no one knows how long it will take to get inventories back to normal.
Even as they shop, customers have COVID-19 on the top of their minds.
Evelyn Wade is from Crafton. "It's scary, that's what I think about it. Never in my lifetime did I think we'd have anything like this."
Lyndsay Stunja describes it as an emotional rollercoaster: "I keep going back and forth getting more scared, getting less scare, so I'm just being cautious now."
Gillian McTiernan puts it this way: "I'm very concerned, I think people are taking the right measures now, but it's important for keeping distance and wash(ing) hands and so all the proper sanitation type things."
As Alison Pomietto and her daughter Sarah came out of Target, they paused so mom could take a picture of Sarah with a large package of toilet paper.
Alison says they felt like they'd won a prize when they spotted the tissue on the shelf: "It felt pretty good after not being able to find it for a week at least."
But it turns out the Pompietto family doesn't need the toilet paper: "This is for a friend of mine who can't come out due to health concerns. So I decided to go out and find it for her and now I'm delivering it to her house."