Echuca retailers are reporting customers are coming from as far away as Lysterfield in Melbourne's eastern suburbs to purchase ‘high demand’ products such as freezers, as the nation’s corona-virus panic-buying goes to another level.
Retail giants Better Electrical and Harvey Norman have very limited stock of freezers after a buying bonanza in recent days.
Harvey Norman Echuca proprietor Rick Gostich said there was a ‘massive’ increase in sales over recent days.
“People from Melbourne have called up to reserve two of our last four big freezers and then sure enough they were down a few hours later to pick it up,” he said.
“We have a couple of little freezers left, but getting more in is going to be extremely difficult, most of the stock comes from China and we can’t get anymore in for two months.
“That’s not just us, that’s Australia-wide.”
Better Electrical salesperson Paul said the last week had been ‘bedlam’.
“We’ve had people from Melbourne come down just to get a freezer, because there’s none left there,” he said.
“We’ve just about run out.”
As fears of the corona-virus take hold in the community products such as toilet paper, rice, flour, pasta and soaps have been flying off the shelves and supermarkets are struggling to keep up with the demand.
Premier of Victoria Dan Andrews - who declared a state of emergency yesterday- has taken to social media to warn against ‘panic-buying’.
Mr Andrews said he understood people were worried and he didn’t ‘blame’ anyone for wanting to be prepared, but the panic in aisles and checkouts ‘had to stop’.“Staff are being abused and assaulted. Decent people are fighting over pasta and hand wash,” he said.
“Buy what you need, buy what you will actually use. Not three or six months’ worth of stuff - nobody needs that much.
‘“Stockpiling is a privilege not everyone can afford – and it's a cycle that breeds more frustration and fear.“So please, next time you’re at the supermarket take a deep breath and ask yourself:“Do I really need this - or will someone else need it more?”Despite calls for calm from politicians and assurances from supermarkets that there is no problem with the supply of food, people are still scared and still hoarding food.La Trobe University psychology lecturer Dr Mathew Ruby said research has shown under conditions of uncertainty, people are more impacted by social influence, and therefore even more responsive to what they see others around them doing.“So, remaining calm but cautious doesn't just help you, but should also encourage those around you to do the same,” he said.“To reduce panic buying, measures to reduce feelings of uncertainty should hopefully help, such as clear and consistent messaging from government and health authorities about the state of the pandemic, and clear and consistent messaging from grocery stores about the current state of the supply chain.”