With the severe winter weather we're having this week, you may be heading out to your local grocery store to prepare — buying things to keep you warm, safe, fed and comfortable. Still, where is the line drawn between prepared purchasing and panic purchasing?
Psychologists say survival instincts kick in when humans are faced with the unknown — in this case, unusual or unfamiliar weather patterns. A coping mechanism they often report seeing — "panic buying." It's defined as when consumers buy unusually large or excess amounts of products ahead of an emergency situation to feel more prepared, often in an attempt to combat a feeling of a lack of control.
I took this information and hit the aisles at the Rouses Market on Bertrand Drive in Lafayette. That's where I found Delores Riley.
"We ain't used to this kinda weather out here," Riley, a local school bus driver, told me. "I'm out here getting what I need ahead of time because you don't know what those roads or that weather is going to look like, it may not be safe to wait."
During my time at the grocery store, dozens of people were rushing in and out of the cold doing exactly what Delores was. It's an image people like store manager Thomas Quoyeser can see with their eyes shut.
"All of a sudden, you'll see them buying propane tanks, firewood, anything to keep their houses warm," Quoyeser said. He also mentioned just how much work goes into getting his store prepared. "We look at the forecast and make sure we're ordering to supply the demand of the event that might happen, and as it's going, we've got to look at how we're going to replenish, so it's a balancing act because the roads may be closed. Delivery that would normally be here by Wednesday will be here tonight."
Thomas tells me his store sees a near 25 percent increase in shoppers when severe weather strikes, and while you might want to run to the store, you should think before you buy, even during this state of emergency we're in. Experts warn that you don't buy what you don't need. That way, you save yourself some money and make sure there's enough to go around for everyone.
