It seems that, despite plenty of evidence to the contrary, shoppers in Germany are still worried about basic supplies running out. New data has shown that, just before the second partial lockdown came into effect, sales of certain products skyrocketed. Panic buying has officially resumed. 

German supermarkets stripped bare by panic buyers

It became a familiar sight during the first coronavirus lockdown: supermarket shelves stripped bare of everyday essentials like toilet paper, hand soap and pasta. And it seems that the threat of a second lockdown has got people up to their old tricks again. 

A new special evaluation from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has revealed that sales figures for toilet paper in the week from October 19 to 24 - just before the second coronavirus lockdown was announced - were more than twice as high (up 139 percent) than in the pre-crisis months August 2019 to January 2020. In the following week from October 26 to 31, sales were up 84 percent. 

And it’s not just toilet paper that was proving popular. In the last week of October, sales of disinfectant products were more than double the average before the coronavirus crisis. Consumers were also buying flour (sales up 101 percent), yeast (up 74 percent) and sugar (up 63 percent) in vast quantities. A number of supermarkets in Germany have started limiting sales of certain items that are in high demand. 

Increase not as strong as during first lockdown

Although significant, these spikes do not match the strong surges experienced during the first coronavirus lockdown, Destatis said. Sales of disinfectant products, for example, were up by as much as 800 percent during the spring. “It is possible that the appeals from politicians and business associations were at least partially effective [in reducing panic buying in the autumn],” they explain. 

Supermarkets in Germany continue to emphasise that there is no reason to panic. “From our point of view, there is no reason to stock up on supplies,” said Franz-Martin Rausch, General Manager of the Federal Association of the German Grocery Trade (BVLH). “There are enough stocks.” Klaus Windhagen, General Manager of the Association of German Paper Mills, added: “As long as the consumer behaves normally, there will be no undersupply.”