Adam Ferrier (pictured) said the panic-buying trend of stocking up on toilet paper was declining
A consumer psychologist has predicted that Australia’s toilet-paper hoarding will end on Friday.
Adam Ferrier, one of the creators of advertising agency Thinkerbell, said the panic-buying trend of stocking up on toilet paper was declining.
‘Most trends are over at about the same rate they start. The quicker the rise, the quicker the fall,’ he said.
‘So here’s a prediction, for the record: The frenzy will be over as quickly as it started. I’ll give it until Friday,’ he wrote in a column for Mumbrella.
The toilet paper craze saw shoppers bulk buying toiletries, emptying shelves and fighting which each other in the nation’s major supermarkets, which had to start rationing sales.
Some supermarkets have even taken to selling single rolls only from behind the counter in an attempt to stop violent scenes in the aisles.
The great Aussie toilet paper splurge was perpetuated by media coverage, emptying shelves
The sight of empty shelves intensified fears people would not be able to buy toilet paper, fueling the rush. This is partly because toilet paper is a bulky item so shelves empty faster
‘Seeing people stockpiling toilet paper encouraged others to do the same; suddenly, it felt like the normal thing to do,’ Mr Ferrier wrote.
Sales of large jars of some breakfast spreads had also risen by 40 per cent, but a craze was not perpetuated, in part because toilet paper in a shopping trolley makes a more dramatic photo for media to broadcast.
The sight of empty toilet paper shelves also provoked shoppers to worry they would miss out and to stock up.
This was partly because toilet paper is a bulky item that takes a lot of shelf space, so the shelf empties quicker than for breakfast spreads, Mr Ferrier said.
After three women brawled over toilet rolls at a Woolworths in Sydney’s western suburb of Chullora on Saturday, NSW Police Acting Inspector Andrew New told the public to calm down.
‘There is no need for it. It isn’t the Thunderdome, it isn’t Mad Max, we don’t need to do that,’ Acting Inspector New said on Saturday.
‘There is no need for people to go out and panic buy at supermarkets, paracetamol and canned food or toilet paper.’
A video of the incident went viral on social media and showed women pushing, yelling and fighting over a jumbo packet of toilet paper amid panic buying caused by the coronavirus.
The fight began when a third woman reportedly tried to pick up one of the packets from the mother’s trolley, sparking mayhem
After spending hours queuing for the store to open at 7am, shoppers poured in – with the mum, 60, and daughter, 23, piling their trolley high with toilet paper.
The fight began when a third woman, 49, reportedly tried to pick up a packet of toilet paper from the mother’s trolley, sparking mayhem.
After the brawl was broken up by a member of staff, the camera panned to show the mother’s trolley filled to the brim with toilet paper.
‘Are you f*****g joking?’, the other woman asked.
NSW Police said the staff separated the women, before police were called.
‘Officers from Bankstown Police Station attended and spoke to a 49-year-old woman, who had allegedly been assaulted,’ a police spokesperson said.
‘She was uninjured.’
‘About 8pm, two women attended Bankstown Police Station and spoke with investigators.’
On Sunday, the mother and daughter from Bankstown were issued court attendance notices for affray.
Both are due to appear at Bankstown Local Court on April 28.