Coming to your hands for toilet paper. It is a surreal image and yet it has taken place, and in several places. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, whether in France, Italy or the United States, consumers flock to supermarkets to stock up on toilet paper. However, at no time has it been announced that this paper could protect from the coronavirus. So how do you explain this craze for this product? According to Steven Taylor, author of The pathology of pandemics, cited in the columns of Parisian, it is the repetition of these empty ray images which led to the fear of shortage. "I think it probably comes from the amazing images on social media that were very clear: the packages are very recognizable and it has become a symbol of security in people's heads", he explained.
While governments are telling people that they only need to wash their hands and stay confined to limit the spread of the virus, some people need more security. "People flock to toilet paper because it's a way to avoid disgusting things", still assured the professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. According to him, the fear was largely increased by the social networks. They allowed"the massive dissemination of dramatic images and videos around the world, which worsened the sense of threat and urgency"Panic is also caused by governments that fail to reassure their people since this virus is new and nobody really knows how and when it will end.
Towards an increase in the price of toilet paper?
According to economists, this is the theory of Zero risk bias that entered people's minds at the start of the pandemic. "We want to have a sense of control with limited budgets"said Farasat Bokhari, a specialist in health economics at the British University of East Anglia."We buy something cheap, which we can store, keeping in mind that we will use it anyway"To curb these compulsive purchases, the price of toilet paper can then be increased. But, this option can have the opposite effect. People can tell themselves that if the price of the product increases it is because there are almost more. So there is little chance that manufacturers will choose to change the price of this essential product.
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Rest assured that consumers who have not stocked up on toilet paper will be able to buy it as soon as they need it. There is no shortage to fear. "All these products, including toilet paper, are made in France and there is stock in warehouses and at manufacturers", explained in the columns of Médiapart, a manager of a large French distribution chain.
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