全球智库信息集成服务系统(G2TT): DP15371 Preparing for a pandemic: Spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID-19 first wave

G2TT

来源类型	Discussion paper
规范类型	论文
来源ID	DP15371
	DP15371 Preparing for a pandemic: Spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID-19 first wave
	Martin O'Connell; Aureo de Paula; Kate Smith
发表日期	2020-10-14
出版年	2020
语种	英语
摘要	We study consumer spending dynamics during the first infection wave of the COVID-19 pandemic using household scanner data covering fast-moving consumer goods in the United Kingdom. We document a large spike in spending for storable products, such as food staples and household supplies, in the days before lockdown. Demand increases were concentrated in 30 of 138 product categories, e.g. soap, soup, canned goods and dried pasta. Households in all socioeconomic groups exhibit unusually high demand pre-lockdown, but there is a clear gradient, with the largest demand spikes for wealthier households. Although stories of people purchasing extreme amounts received a lot of attention, higher aggregate demand was mainly driven by more households than usual choosing to buy storable products, with only small increases in average quantities bought on a given trip. Temporary limits on the number of units per transaction, introduced following the demand spike, are therefore unlikely to lead to the avoidance of stock-outs. Given rapidly increasing case numbers in the ongoing second wave, and the spectre of further national lockdowns, our work provides timely evidence for preparing for a future demand spike.
主题	Industrial Organization ; Public Economics
关键词	Panic buying Hoarding Coronavirus
URL	https://cepr.org/publications/dp15371
来源智库	Centre for Economic Policy Research (United Kingdom)
资源类型	智库出版物
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/544354
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Martin O'Connell,Aureo de Paula,Kate Smith. DP15371 Preparing for a pandemic: Spending dynamics and panic buying during the COVID-19 first wave. 2020.