A new study has revealed who’s behind Australia’s toilet roll shortage and it appears to be young parents with children.
The study, by market research firm EKAS, revealed that 19.9 per cent of people admitted they’d been hoarding in the face of the coronavirus pandemic and it was “largely the preserve of those aged 35 to 44 (28.4 per cent) who were in a couple and/or have children at home”.
According to those polled, the highest motivator for bulk buying appears to be preparation for a two week or longer isolation period (70.2 per cent), followed by a fear of stores running out of staple products (56.5 per cent).
When asked about the spike in the purchase of toilet paper rolls, the majority of respondents (66.8 per cent) said this represented the definition of hysteria. Another 19.8 per cent described it as slightly illogical, 11 per cent said it was a little over the top, but logical, while 2.9 per cent of preppers considered it the only logical thing to do in the circumstances.
The research was conducted on March 12 – 16 with 1,174 Australians polled throughout the country, to compile their opinions on the escalating COVID-19 pandemic.
Other (equally alarming findings) included:
• Of those surveyed, 83.7 per cent said they were now greeting people with no contact and only verbally. There is 6.1 per cent who are still game for a hug by way of welcome and just 2.7 per cent who are willing to risk a handshake.
• Large festivals (68.5 per cent) are considered no go zones by more than two-thirds of people, while ticketed events like concerts were off-limits for 61.4 per cent of respondents.
• Out of those surveyed who had some form of travel planned in the near future, a vast number have either postponed (27.9 per cent) or cancelled (14.6 per cent) domestic or overseas trips. Another 25.2 per cent of respondents said they had been planning a trip overseas or interstate but had abandoned the idea.
• 54 per cent of Australians who would normally have attended the Easter Show identified they would be avoiding it this year over the peak Easter weekend, justifying fears of loss for large scale events even if they were to proceed as usual.
• Movie theatres (58.9 per cent), shopping malls (49.5 per cent), restaurants and eateries (45.6 per cent), children’s play centres (37.1 per cent) and fast food outlets (32.9 per cent) are all places a notable number of Aussies plan to avoid in the near future.
• The majority of respondents (68.7 per cent) expressed concern about the spread of the virus in Australia, indicating they were either very concerned (21.8 per cent) or quite concerned (46.9 per cent).
• Sixty-two per cent of respondents agreed that people aged over 70 years were at the highest risk. Another 27.3 per cent of people said the coronavirus had them concerned about people of all ages. Respondents aged over 75 themselves were considerably more worried about the virus – some 32.1 per cent said they were very concerned about its spread.
• Nearly three-quarters of Australians (73.1 per cent) are now convinced a recession is headed our way.
