Refrigerators are the new toilet paper

October 2, 2020 by
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At the beginning of the pandemic, toilet paper began flying off the shelves and almost overnight there was none to be found in any store at any price. It took months for that product, as well as paper towels and most antibacterial cleaning supplies, to be back in stock on a consistent basis. Even now, more than six months after the first stay at home proclamations, the paper products aisle in my local supermarket is never more than half full. Now there is another shortage affecting US consumers, and possibly those in other countries as well: refrigerators and other major appliances.

The shortage is the result of several factors. First, people began to hoard food and needed more or larger freezers. Once freezers were out of stock, consumers began turning to refrigerators with freezers, buying a second fridge for the garage or basement. Manufacturers, who have to predict demand months in advance, did not anticipate a run on major appliances because their bet was that people would be hesitant to make expensive purchases in a time of economic uncertainty.

As it turns out, however, the particular circumstances of this situation didn’t fit the usual mold of consumer pullback in a recession. That is because with everyone staying home and cooking more, appliances began to break down more frequently. Several of my friends replaced their failing dishwashers, and it is likely that the demise was accelerated by a significant increase in usage. People also turned their focus away from activities like traveling and attending shows, and instead tackled remodeling projects. Who wants old appliances when you have new cabinets, walls, and floors?

Another element of the shortage is the closure of manufacturing facilities due to Covid-19 outbreaks. Many factories were shuttered for weeks or months, or were operating at a reduced capacity. Combine reduced output with increased demand, and you have all the conditions for a paucity of appliances available to consumers. Although all appliances are affected, refrigerators and freezers seem to be the most scarce at the moment.

Category: Antipasto

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4 Comments

  • Vanessa  on  October 3, 2020

    I think we got lucky. Our fridge died early on (April, during lockdown here), and we basically brought the only floor model that fit the space. The best that the store could offer on any delivery was 10 days “maybe”, and we needed (wanted!) something much sooner.
    It wasn’t the style that I had wanted — it’s a French door, bottom freezer. (It’s a smallish fridge, so it does not have that full-width middle drawer that the large French door models have.) But much to my surprise, I love this layout. It’s got much more usable room. Even the bottom freezer has a bonus: I can much more easily fit a cake or other bake that needs a quick chill.
    With all that, and a finish that is remarkably fingerprint-proof, this is the rare appliance purchase that turned out to have a huge fun factor!

  • averythingcooks  on  October 3, 2020

    This is affecting Canadian consumers as well. A friend’s fridge died in June and the replacement (purchased locally) was going to take 8 – 10 weeks to arrive. They were given a “loaner fridge” (which I had never heard of before) for the entire summer and the new fridge arrived in the 2nd week of September.

    Another friend was building his new home when things completely shut down. Luckily all the building supplies were in town & in storage in the spring (very lucky based on the current lumber supply issues), however he did not consider appliances until recently as the actual building started so much later than planned. He now is facing moving in by late November with very few (if any) appliances on site.

  • PegMallon  on  October 4, 2020

    So true! We had great difficulty in finding a replacement garage fridge in July but the DIY employee was very helpful and did manage to find one. We haven’t been so lucky trying to replace a Bosch dishwasher since early September. The first DIY store wouldn’t even commit until December 15. We did purchase one at the other DIY but we are still waiting on installation and the date keeps changing and seems a bit iffy. Not the most important thing with all that’s going on in the world but a small bit of an annoyance.

  • averythingcooks  on  October 7, 2020

    Arrrgh – I might have an update on the status of ovens soon. Ours died last night and has left us with a single counter top burner that we bought to help with big dinner party prep, our microwave & the BBQ. Someone is coming later today to see if it is an electrical / connection issue (we were very lucky to find someone so quickly!) but with the Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend, I was a “little” stressed last night. We were not having a big gathering due to COVid but I still had plans for a nice celebration dinner for us. But as I reflect on the origin / idea behind Thanksgiving, I am reminding myself that there are obviously MUCH bigger issues in the world right now, the turkey (and all the other groceries) etc can be frozen/stored for a later date and we are VERY fortunate to have everything that we do have.

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