Trader Joe's? How about Trader No's!

The world on the brink of imminent collapse, at least if you're judging from the ability to buy dry goods in Palo Alto. As the fear of coronavirus grows, so does the demand for non-perishable goods to shore up the self-isolation efforts occurring across the country. The thinking here seemingly goes that if we're going to have be quarantined for the next couple weeks, we better not run out of toilet paper and spaghetti. I personally witnessed this while trying to buy groceries at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's the past weekend.

It also appears that the fear of quarantine is also driving an increase in demand for alcohol. While no one necessarily wants a global pandemic, it could have the admitted benefit of shoring up the declining wine sales the industry with some cities seeing increases in retail alcohol sales by as much as 500% compared to January. [1] While all alcohol sales are up, anecdotal evidence suggests cheap wine is a top seller. A possible (but not verified) reason for this is as a side effect of being quarantined for weeks on end with children, spouses, and potentially (gasp!) in-laws.

However, it remains to be seen if growth in retail wine sales helps or hurts the overall industry as the decline in business at wine bars and restaurants may offset this. As the virus spread grows, more regions are taking a "shelter-in-place" approach, limiting the amount of people that can be congregated at once or mandating the restriction of establishments like restaurants to take-out only. [2] So maybe have a second (or third) glass with your take out. It's going to be a long winter after all.

Sources:
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/us/coronavirus-alcohol-sales.html
[2] https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-to-shelter-in-place-What-you-need-15135087.php
[2] Photos I took at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, respectively.