A year ago today toilet paper was as good as gold and if you could find wipes you thought you’d won the lottery. While the wipes I understood, I suppose hoarding toilet paper was the pandemic version of comfort food?
Anyway, a year later toilet paper still holds a special place in minds of many Americans and most of us are still altering our buying habits. In a study commissioned by Slickdeals.net, we know what we’ve bought the most of and the least of over the past year along with how many of us have forever changed out habits.
We’ve increased our spending on groceries, self-care, and takeout. And we’ve cut our spending on entertainment, luxury items, and clothes. That sums up the pandemic pretty well for most families. But how many of us have changed our buying habits permanently? Most of us.
According to the study, 60% of Americans won’t go back to the same spending habits as before after the pandemic. Just as a generation’s spending habits were shaped by the Great Depression, the way the pandemic has shaped our lives appears to be producing similar changes in behavior. Consider this, if on occasion you’re still having trouble finding toilet paper it's because 14% of Americans are still panic buying essentials. The three most commonly “panic bought items are toilet paper, water and hand sanitizer/cleaners.
If you’re going to be neurotic about something, I suppose it could be worse than sanitization supplies. Better hygiene remains the silver lining to the pandemic, though occasionally annoying when you really could use a roll of toilet paper.
Photo by: Getty Images North America