- Emmanuel Macron announced various measures regarding the coronavirus on Thursday evening. Among them, the closure of all schools and incentives to telecommute.
- Supermarkets are seeing consumers parade, who fear a shortage of food and not being able to go out to shop.
- But professionals want to be reassuring about the stocks they have. They insist that if the shelves are empty, they will be filled very quickly.
"The website of the drive no longer works", "It feels like in times of war", "There is nothing more, more pasta, more rice, more toilet paper". Since the start of the coronavirus epidemic, the fear of a shortage had floated in the air. And has become a little more real in the last few hours.
Images are multiplying on social networks: empty shelves, endless queues at the checkout, shopping carts on the verge of implosion ... Since the television announcements of Emmanuel Macron about the coronavirus, Thursday evening, many flock to the supermarkets to stock food and other basic necessities.
The exploding drive
"For the past few weeks, we have seen abnormal but manageable sales volumes," explains Thierry Desouches, spokesperson for the Système U group. An unusual increase, to the point of undermining the order processing computer server, he said. “A few minutes after the end of the President of the Republic's speech, the number of connections to our drive site caused the server to jump. "
Comments on Twitter this Friday witnessed a similar problem at E.Leclerc. For Credoc economist Pascale Hebel, this is not a surprise: “We have been feeling anxiety for 24 hours and the announcement of Emmanuel Macron's speech. "Thierry Desouches (System U) abounds:" The coronavirus was in everyone's mind, but the President's measures were a reminder of the possible consequences of such a crisis. "He adds:" With the requests expressed yesterday, people realize that they will have to cook something - for those who telecommute - instead of eating out, and above all feed the children who will no longer go to the canteen. "
"We see others buy, so we imitate"
There is also a mimicry effect, explains Pascale Hebel: “People have seen Australians or Americans throw themselves on food, so they think they should do the same. It is the same for the choice of products. We see the other customers buying pasta and rice, so we imitate. It's even quite rational. "
Could the situation then drift towards rationing, as was notably put in place by Tesco in England? For Thierry Desouches, the answer is no: “It would be complicated, it would take people to manage this and security, customers could quickly get upset. And the situation across the Channel is not the same. “The English have a very modest agrifood sector, they have long turned to import for this sector. This is not our case, ”explains Pascale Hebel.
Breaks, but no shortages
Professionals in the sector keep repeating: “There is no risk of a shortage. First of all because the distributors anticipated the crisis. An employee of a group of large surfaces assures him: “As for the difficult situations, the heat wave for example, we over-ordered and filled the stocks. And even with that, we still have no supply or transportation problems. "Jacques Creyssel, general delegate of the Federation of Commerce and Distribution, explained this week on RMC:" These are precautionary purchases [...], undoubtedly excessively, but there are stocks on all the products in question. "
Same story with System U. "We are waiting to see the wave that will arrive this weekend, but there will be no shortage, says Thierry Desouches. With excess purchases, the market tightens and we can end up with shortages, this is what we see with empty shelves. "He insists on the difference between rupture and shortage:" Purchases can exceed the storage possibilities of stores, but these are replenished by central purchasing, which they are full. "
"We have everything you need"
Really no fear to have, then? "Apart from a few products from China or Italy, we have everything you need," notes Credoc economist Pascale Hebel.
The bread ? "We have no shortage of wheat." Fruits and vegetables ? "If some are imported, they are not by far and anyway, we have one of the most powerful agricultures". No need, therefore, for fear of starvation in addition to the coronavirus. “There is nothing to fear about this. "
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- Coronavirus
- Supermarket
- Economy
- Emmanuel Macron
- Social
- Stores