New virus wave not sparking panic buying -- yet

During the spring pandemic, Czechs learned to buy more goods at one time and to go shopping less frequently. And while Czechs took off their masks after the state of emergency was lifted, their shopping habits appear to have been changed permanently. Shoppers haven't been hoarding goods in months, but the average shopping basket is still 25 percent larger than it was a year ago, according to the Nielsen agency which tracks such indicators. Tesco's spokesman Vaclav Koukolicek told Aktualne.cz confirmed the finding. "It's still the case that the shopping basket has grown and that fewer people are shopping, but this is a trend that's held onsince March or April. The current increase in new cases of coronavirus hasn't resulted in a new wave of buying, however according to Penny Market, Albert and Kaufland, writes Aktualne.cz. In the spring, Czechs were buying large volumes of non-perishable items such as rice, past and canned goods, but this isn't happening at the moment. "We're not seeing any massive growth in shopping in our stores, customers aren't stocking up on supplies," says Lidl's Iveta Barabasova. "In terms of our offering, we're seeing greater demand for hand gels and antibacterial wipes."