Stocking up on hand sanitizer: Pandemic lessons for retailers and consumers

This study investigates the influence of pandemic experiences on consumer behavior and retail operations, focusing on hand sanitizer during eight seasonal flu epidemics and the swine flu pandemic, covering the period from 2008 to 2017. Motivated by the need to understand the pandemic's impact on retail dynamics, this study fills a gap in knowledge about consumer and retailer adjustments in response to health crises. Using an empirical analysis of data from 38,000 U.S. stores, the results show that both consumers and retailers appear to learn from their pandemic experiences. Consumers respond by substituting large pack sizes for small pack sizes of sanitizer, while retailers carry larger assortments of sanitizer products. Moreover, it is noted that the strategies employed by warehouse clubs and drug store chains—stocking large pack sizes and stocking wide assortments of hand sanitizer, respectively—are both attractive to consumers. Finally, the results show that sanitizer sales patterns during the swine flu pandemic were similar to those during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, indicated that lessons learned from one pandemic may be carried forward to subsequent pandemics. These findings contribute to the literature on retail management and consumer behavior during health emergencies, offering valuable insights for future pandemic preparedness.