The Surprising Grocery Shortage Happening At Costco

Costco is a huge store that is a go-to option for many loyal customers across the country, who depend on the brand for their everyday essentials. However, for many stores like Costco, the pandemic has been really tough to deal with. For example, the supply chain for beef was impacted in a major way last year across the country that ultimately to big losses for the industry as a whole (via National Geographic.) 

Ben Brown, an expert from Ohio State University that is well-versed in topics like agricultural risk management, felt that it was impossible to run operations as usual. "This is an industry that's not used to social distancing," he explained. "When you start spreading [employees] out, you slow down the output." The demand for a grocery staple like milk also went down like never before on account of schools being shut. While things are much better now, Costco has now reported an unexpected shortage of a basic essential item.

According to a piece by Eat This, Not That!, Costco doesn't have enough water available for its customers and has decided to restrict five cases to each customer. A Reddit user also confirmed this recently by posting a sign at the store that read, "We are currently out of water. There is not yet an ETA for our next delivery. We apologize for the inconvenience." Shoppers on social media were taken aback by this development. 

A commenter wrote, "Costco gets paper and water deliveries nearly every single day to keep up with demand. It only takes one missed delivery for them to be out of stock." Another shopper wrote that they saw a long queue for water at a store recently. They added, "I heard a clerk say they got three trucks of water in and it was still sold out mid day." This problem is allegedly being noticed in several locations such as south Chicago and northern Wisconsin. Costco hasn't released an official statement yet.