Shoppers may have noticed empty or near-empty shelves in supermarkets or pharmacies when looking for over-the-counter cold, cough and flu medication and treatment items.
The Dallas Morning News took snapshots around North Texas and noticed bare shelves.
“Given everything that is going on, consumers should probably expect there to be these periodic shortages over the next three to six months as the supply chain gets back in gear and catches up,” said Michael Gallaway, lead faculty member of Logistics and Supply Chain Management at Dallas College North Lake Campus. “You will probably see a lot of situations where product will come into a store, it will go on the shelves and it will be gone relatively quickly.”
Experts say the issues are likely very temporary and exercising patience may be necessary.
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“When you have a higher amount of demand than what is forecast, then you will have some disruptions,” Gallaway said. “There are going to be some shortages, but rest assured that the manufacturers of these products are working tirelessly to get product back on the shelf because when product isn’t on the shelf, they aren’t making money. That’s really the bottom line at the end of the day.”
A representative for Target said DFW stores should get stocked and restock regularly and their data does not indicate a shortage.
It appears as quickly as the items are added to shelves they are being purchased.
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“It’s kind of like a perfect storm coming together. You have a new COVID variant out. You have cold and flu season and a lot of people are looking for relief in over-the-counter medications,” Gallaway said.
