Holiday Shortage Fears Are Leading One Major Grocer to Limit Sales of Some Staples

Supply chain issues — and the often inevitable shortages that follow — have been widely reportedfor all sorts of productsin the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. And from there, increased demand due to seasonal buying habits can also cause havoc: For instance, Halloween camewith a pumpkin shortage; Thanksgiving camewith a turkey shortage.

And so what about Christmas? With two weeks still to go, at least one major grocer is already taking steps to spread the holiday cheer evenly across its customers. Publix — America's tenth largest food retailer by salesaccording to Supermarket News— has introduced shopping limits on a number of items, including some products that could be considered holiday staples.

在通往感恩节的领先地位，Publix已经在蔓越莓酱罐装限制;jarred肉汁;奶油乳酪;熏肉;卷式早餐香肠;一次性板，杯子和餐具;卫生纸;冷藏零食（如盒子）;运动饮料;无菌果汁（如卡普里太阳）; canned cat food variety packs; and refrigerated pet food,according to第一个海岸新闻.

Now, with Christmas in their sights, a Publix spokesperson confirmed to us that they have further updated their purchase limits due to "ongoing supply issues and increased holiday demand." Added to the above list are coconut flakes, dairy whipping cream, half & half creamers, frozen pie shells, frozen hashbrowns, and canola, vegetable, and corn oil. According to a company spokesperson, customers are limited to buying two of any individual item in the above sections.

Adding shopping limits right before the holidays may sound like an easy way to disappoint customers, but Maria Brous, Publix's director of communications, felt otherwise. "We are committed to providing our customers with transparency in messaging and would never want to disappoint them," she told me via email. "By setting purchase limits and clearly communicating at shelf, point-of-sale and with our media partners, we provide a greater chance that more customers will find and be able to purchase items for their favorite holiday recipes."

Meanwhile, a Publix spokesperson also clarified to第一个海岸新闻that these limits didn't have a set timeline and "the list can change to include more items or remove items."

Though Publix has made headlines this week, they are far from the only supermarket dealing with pandemic-related issues. Some common grocery brands like Coca-Cola and Grape-Nuts havestruggled to keep their items in stockat stores across the country; meanwhile, as inflation fears have mounted, some chains havetaken to stockpiling products, a move that can also further exacerbate supply chain issues.