A Clever Denmark Supermarket’s Anti-Hoarding Price Strategy

Hoarding of items such as disposable medicinal gloves, respirators, and masks through basic needs from the grocery or supermarket, such as tissue paper, alcohol and sanitizer has been a global problem these days. The Coronavirus pandemic or also known as Covid-19 has caused a great impact all around the world, causing economic and tourism dent, too, since it’s easily passed on to another person if one is not careful and does not follow social distancing.

Though very frustrating and irritating for the general public, hoarding has become so popular, memes specifically dedicated to it have been created all around the world. Apart from the above mentioned medical supplies and basic household needs, hand sanitizers are also listed as some of the most popular and most sought-after items. Hoarding has become a big problem not only for the general public but also for the merchants as well since most of the merchants aim to provide for everyone and anyone who goes to their store in search of their needs.

As a solution, a clever supermarket in Denmark called Rotunden came up with a strategy unlike any other! Now, this may seem like a simple enough trick but it definitely promises to stop hoarding, once and for all. It’s a pricing strategy aimed to provide hand sanitizers to whoever needs it as this certain strategy prevents hoarding. For a bottle of hand sanitizer, it should cost a buyer 40 DKK, which is $4.09. If the buyer decides to buy two bottles, though, that’s when the strategy kicks in, because buying two bottles would mean the buyer would need to pay 1,000 DKK or $95. One can just imagine the reaction from the buyer when he finds out that is the price he needs to pay for two bottles, but let’s not forget that the aim for this pricing strategy is not for more income for the establishment but to put a stop to hoarding and provide as many people as they possibly can with hand sanitizers during these trying times.

That just goes to show that not only is Rotunden considered as a physically beautiful supermarket but their values are also beautiful and very considerate or sympathetic to the general public. They consider and feel what everyone else is going through and therefore came up with this pricing strategy to accommodate everyone else and not just the very few who have the financial means to hoard. Rotunden stated via Facebook that it is important to understand each other during these times and help in our little way. We can help by maintaining and following the social distancing rule, sanitizing our hands at the entrance, using gloves and allowing only one person per family to make the necessary purchases.

Naturally, Rotunden’s pricing strategy garnered different reactions and opinions from the netizen. Though some say that there are other ways to stop hoarding, the majority of the comments are very positive, stating it’s a magnificent or awesome idea and very cleverly thought of. They are hoping most of the world would follow the same as hoarding is practiced in different parts of the world, too. Hoarding is just one of the social effects of the Coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic that affected the whole world and caused some people to practice panic buying as some cities are on strict lockdown.