There’s no denying that fears of a widerspread coronavirus outbreak are sweeping the nation. Despite what health experts are recommending at this time, U.S. citizens are stockpiling extra dry goods in the event they find themselves stuck at home for some amount of time.
Face mask, hand sanitizer, and cases of bottled water have been flying off grocery store shelves for weeks, but what are the other most sought after items? According to Nielsen data, shelf-stable and longer-lasting foods have seen a spike in sales since late February, while fresh produce sales are noticeably lower.
CNBC compared how this years product sales are comparing to last year’s sales of the sale time period. At U.S. stores, fruit snacks sales were up by nearly 13%. Dried beans were up 10%, and pretzels were up 9%. Other items like energy drinks, pet medicine, vitamin supplements, and first-aid kits also so an sales spike. Here’s how some of the numbers compared to this time last year:
- Fruit snacks +12.6%
- Pet medicine +11%how
- Energy drinks +10.1%
- Dried beans +10.1%
- Pretzels +9%
- Supplements +7.8%
- Frozen fruit +6.6%
- First Aid Kits +6.2%
- Water +5.1%
- Asparagus -3.2%
- Mandarin oranges -4.2%
- Chili peppers -4.7%
- Celery – 15.7%
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 128 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. Most of those individuals had recently traveled outside the country, but at least 26 are believed to be from human-to-human contact. There have been nine deaths in the U.S., most of those in the Seattle area. Worldwide at time of publishing, 3,214 deaths have been linked to the virus.
Also see, Here’s why you should never store extra canned goods in the garage.
