Walmart CEO Encourages Shoppers to Buy Toilet Paper 'Week-to Week' Instead of 'Stocking Up'

With the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans have been stockpiling [...]

By Victoria Moghaddami

With the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, many Americans have been stockpiling food and household supplies out of fear they may not have access to grocery stores and large retail giants in the future. However, grocery store CEOs requested that President Donald Trump relay a message to the American people to not buy so much food and supplies at once because they don't plan on shutting their doors. Now, Walmart CEO, Doug McMillon is asking his customers to only buy toilet paper on a week-to-week basis instead of stockpiling.

In an interview with the Today show, McMillon said the company stocks enough to go around for everyone, but that things like paper goods and hand sanitizer are still flying off the shelves and that it would be helpful if customers would only buy week-to-week instead of bulking up so much at once. "I think it's important that everyone know that our merchandise continues to flow, our replenishment team, our suppliers are really working hard to make that happen. Food is recovering and in good shape," he said before adding that "hand sanitizer's been a little hard to come by" but that his associates and workers each have some but that once they're on the shelves they go quickly.

"Paper goods continue to sell out quickly. In the last five days we've sold enough toilet paper for every American to have their own roll just in five days. So there's plenty of flow coming but if everyone could just kind of manage and buy week-to-week rather than stocking up at this point it'd be helpful for everybody."

McMillon also announced Friday that the company plans on having 20 mobile coronavirus testing stations set up across 10 states in the coming weeks. Today host Savannah Guthrie asked him whether everyone will have access to the testing stations since those that are already set up seem to only be for frontline health care workers, and he said that they're working on it. "We've put up a few, we think we're gonna have 20 sites open over 10 states in the next couple of weeks. PPE [personal protective equipment] was the original limitation but that's starting to improve and we're hoping to get those open and operating quickly in the places they're needed most."

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