Shortages caused by more than supply chain delays
Pick a social media platform and search the words “empty shelves,” and the results will likely be filled with photos and comments noting bare shelves at grocery stores around the U.S.
In Connecticut, one Twitter user took note of the cleaned-out stock of cat food in one local store. Another noticed the difference between the available products at a Connecticut Target location and a Massachusetts Aldi store.
And it’s not just local social media gossip: Representatives of grocery store chains with locations in Connecticut said that shoppers’ experiences are something they’re witnessing firsthand.
U.S. groceries typically have an out-of-stock rate between 5 percent and 10 percent, the Associated Press reported. The national unavailability rate is currently around 15 percent, Consumer Brands Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman told the AP.
Those numbers come to life on store shelves in Connecticut. Stop & Shop stores are reporting shortages because suppliers face “continued labor and transportation challenges due to COVID-19,” Jennifer Brogan, a spokesperson for the regional chain, said in an email.
Transportation, staffing and the ever-present virus aren’t the only factors contributing to the shortages, both at Stop & Shop and other grocers, Brogan noted.
“The Omicron variant, in tandem with recent weather disruptions, have exacerbated these gaps and the impact is felt across the
grocery industry,” she said, noting that they “do not anticipate any major disruptions” for their customers.
Independent grocery stores are also feeling the constraints of staffing and supply shortages, according to Jim Dudlicek, a spokesman for the National Grocers Association, which represents more than 1,500 independent retail and wholesale grocers nationwide.
“In a recent member survey, some of our members reported operating their stores with less than 50 percent of their normal workforce capacity for brief periods at the height of the wave,” Dudlicek said in an emailed statement.
While consumers have been aware of supply chain issues since well before the 2021 holiday season, Dudlicek said the shortages are not caused by any one
thing.
“As we’ve seen across the economy, product availability and price inflation are being driven by a perfect storm of factors including an ongoing shortage of labor across the entire supply chain, an acute shortage of truck drivers, increased ingredient inputs and occasional disruptions in product packaging production,” he said.
Despite lagging supply, there is high demand — and higher costs. Information provided by the Food Marketing Institute, a trade association, reported that almost half of shoppers have some concerns over food cost and out-of-stock items, though such concern has not increased since the summer.
With grocery store locations in Norwalk, Danbury and Newington, Stew Leonard, Jr. is keeping an eye on rising costs. In his view, current price increases are half due to COVID-related market conditions and half to actual rising costs, like fuel and labor. Weighing the effects of both when it comes to pricing products in his stores is something Leonard said he and his family have given careful consideration.
“We’ve held off on a lot of price increases,” Leonard said. “Right now, we haven’t raised the price of milk, we haven’t raised the price of our breads, of butter — all the staples. Our family decided to sort of lump it a little bit right now and see what happens when things settle down a little bit.”
Leonard has tried to stay ahead by ordering products in advance to stock his warehouses and buying direct from local businesses to cut out suppliers and keep freight costs low. Stew Leonard’s stores also carry store-brand products, which he noted offer an alternative to name-brand items customers are seeking.
Keeping the stores staffed as the omicron variant surges, however, remains a challenge no amount of preparation can ward off.
“Before the holidays, I was talking to the gal that runs our front end and all our cashiers, and she said 20 cashiers called in sick,” Leonard said. “I asked, ‘Why’s that?’ And she said it’s because their moms and dads didn’t want them to come to work in light of COVID. I can understand that, as a parent.”
About 8 percent of the stores’ workforce, or about 200 employees, were out sick or in quarantine last week, Leonard said.
“I have to ask our existing team members to chip in a little bit more,” he said. “For example, we have a great crumb cake that we sell and make it here at the store. We also have an apple crumb cake. Well guess what? We’re not spending the time to make the apple crumb cake; we’re just going to make the regular.”
Suppliers’ staffing levels can also make a difference in what ends up on store shelves, regardless of how much supply is available, Dudlicek noted.
“While there is plenty of food in the supply chain, we anticipate consumers will continue to experience sporadic disruptions in certain product categories as we have seen over the past year and half due to the ongoing supply and labor challenges,” he said.
Leonard said his beef supplier told him that while they have a similar herd size to the previous year* and would ideally run their processing plants six days per week to meet demand, they can only work five days per week.
“They have the same problems we have,” Leonard said. “There’s a worker shortage and a demand surge.”
For consumers, these fluctuating circumstances might be difficult to cope with. Leonard advised shoppers try to visit local food stores that might carry more local goods and rely less on large suppliers. Stores that make their own products on site are also a good choice for shoppers to find what they need, according to Leonard.
So is taking advantage of a store’s weekly specials, he said.
“Sometimes, a supplier says, ‘Hey, I got a whole bunch of chicken left. I’ll give you a deal on it,’” he said. “Shop the specials and don’t be afraid to use your freezer…if you wrap it properly — and you even have these vacuum sealers now — you can take food and freeze it and it’s good for six months.”
Store owners like Leonard are also now supplying their customers with products they never expected. Ask Leonard what his topselling item is these days — it’s COVID-19 tests, a product that took a bidding war to get on his shelves.
It’s all uncharted territory, and Leonard said he’s navigating it right along with his customers.
“I have never seen anything like this in 50 years, and same with our buyers,” he said. “It’s just like when we tell our kids Great Depression stories. This whole COVID thing is going to be like that. It’s just unbelievable.”