Empty Supermarket Shelves? Don’t Play the Blame Game

Throughout the Pandemic in the U.S., you may have seen items in short supply at your local supermarket. In this post I’ll talk about why empty shelves or partially filled shelves are nothing new, but for some reason this has become a recent political football.

Supply problems can cause concerned customers to share photos of empty shelves, and this has been happening since March of 2020. A simple image search with date parameters will demonstrate this. This isn’t a political post…it’s just fact seen through the eyes of a supermarket dietitian with over 20 years of experience in retail.

Image courtesy of FMI.org used with permission.

Early Pandemic

In the early days of the Pandemic (March 2020) cleaning supplies, bleach, toilet paper and hand sanitizer took a big hit as the emphasis was on cleaning and sanitizing. As lockdowns began and restaurants and schools shut down; people realized they needed to cook and bake at home. Meat, flour, sugar, frozen pizzas, soups, breads, stews, beans, etc. etc. were all bought up by the buggy full. Some supermarkets had limits on certain items to attempt to control stockpiling.

Summer 2020

By the summer of 2020 most of the panic had begun to ease …until more item shortages were revealed. A can shortage coupled with high demand for canned items meant fewer canned goods, pet foods and canned beverages like sodas. Harvesting as well as plant and factory slowdowns and closures due to COVID19 meant some brands permanently or temporarily limited or discontinued slower moving and niche products to focus production lines on top sellers. This was often done with no notice or fanfare. Some stores put up signs reminding shoppers that various items were in short supply and limited their purchases. Even with these measures, food brands and retailers were often overwhelmed by the demand from their stay-at-home/not eating out customers.

2021 More of the same

Various shortages continued into 2021 as brands pared down their offerings to focus on their top sellers to maximize production. Many with celiac disease and food allergies realized it was becoming harder and harder to find their familiar gluten-free and allergen-free product staples.

Late 2021 saw worker strikes at General Mills and Mondelez plants across the county which affected cereals and crackers. Ingredient and packaging material shortages along with Covid19-related demand meant beverages like juice boxes, Pediasure and Gatorade were harder to find.

Retailer Resourcefulness

What did supermarket buyers and retailers do to cope and still meet customer demand?:

• They cast a wider net for suppliers.
• They may have leaned harder on local products and suppliers.
• Planograms (shelf set up diagrams) were redone to spread available products out.
• Some had limits on how much of certain products could be purchased.
• Some retailers even camouflaged empty shelves with curtains and cardboard cut outs to look as though products were there.

TESCO market uses cardboard cutout to disguise missing items.

And here we are in 2022…more of the same?: The OMICRON factor

But buyers and retailers can only do so much as many of these shortages continue into 2022 and the transmissibility of the Covid19 Omicron variant plagues the nation. Additional issues affecting supply in 2022 have been weather affecting harvest and transport, with snow and ice storms compounding transportation difficulties and customers stockpiling products. The lack of workers at all phases of the supply chain from harvest and packaging to production, transport, and stocking in stores has been yet another challenge.

What can shoppers do?

1. Be flexible and open to trying new products and brands. This isn’t the time to be fiercely brand loyal.
2. Be patient and kind to your supermarket associates and management and to fellow shoppers. It isn’t their fault. Everyone is doing the best they can.