As seen in the previous lockdown, scholars are now wondering if panic buying will arise again during the second wave of coronavirus. As it was shown in the previous lockdown, across the globe, consumers behaved in a very similar manner. In fact, consumers started to obsessively purchase, in a great quantity, items of any kind. The shops were emptied and supermarkets had to start rationing sales of certain items such as toilet paper.
Panic buying was the result of a fear for national shortage. Our founder explains that “we might be less irrational if we weren’t being reminded so much of the potential dangers by the news”. In fact, the negative news portrayed by the media can bring to “avoid the topic or go completely nuts and stock up on anything we might just need” says Nightingale.
Panic buying was observed all over across the globe. The demand was so high that it led to a strong increase in prices. For instance, in London, masks were going for more than 100 times their normal retail price.
At the time, It was clear that governments had to set rules to avoid these events from happening but they also had to provide a sense of order and control. This must happen also during this second wave: governments must explain the new rules and the reasons why they are important. In this way, the population could feel better and follow the rules. However, as our founder says: “with distrust of health authorities on the rise in the West over mandatory vaccinations and, with governments and companies among the least trusted institutions, this might be difficult”.
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