Why We Stockpile—and How It Affects the Brands We Love (or Don't)

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, many of us found ourselves stocking up on items we never imagined needing in bulk—canned beans, pasta, cleaning supplies, and of course, toilet paper. What looked like hoarding to some was actually a widespread psychological and behavioral response to environmental uncertainty: consumer stockpiling.

But stockpiling isn’t unique to pandemics. We see it regularly when natural disasters like hurricanes or snowstorms are forecast. Even outside of crises, promotional events such as sales or BOGO offers trigger similar behaviors. Essentially, stockpiling is a natural consumer response to perceived future scarcity or opportunity. What’s less often discussed, however, is what happens after the shopping spree—especially when it comes to brand preferences.

Imagine you’ve stockpiled 20 of the same granola bar. You eat one a day for the next few weeks. What happens to your relationship with that brand?

There are a few possible outcomes:

·       Brand Attachment: Familiarity breeds fondness. The repeated exposure could actually deepen your loyalty. You’ve now had a lot of touchpoints with the brand—it’s part of your daily life.

·       Brand Fatigue: On the flip side, overexposure can lead to boredom. You may crave variety. “I’m tired of eating the same thing every day. Next time, I’ll grab something new.”

·       Functional vs. Emotional Use: Stockpiling might shift your relationship from emotional (“I love this brand!”) to purely functional (“It’s what I have”). This shift could dull emotional connection over time.

Interestingly, product category plays a big role. For food and drink, sensory fatigue kicks in faster—taste buds crave novelty. But for household cleaners or hygiene products, function may trump variety, making consumers more likely to stick with the same brand post-stockpiling.

Stockpiling may also increase consumer stress, not just due to clutter and debt, but because of the subtle psychological tension that comes from committing to a brand in such a large quantity.

So, what about you? If you’ve ever stockpiled—during a crisis or just a really good sale—did your relationship with the brand grow stronger, or did you start looking elsewhere once your stash ran out? Did you overconsume just because you had more?

Let’s talk about it. Your experiences may be more common than you think.

Relevant readings/citations:

Bell, David R., Jeongwen Chiang, and Venkata Padmanabhan (1999), "The decomposition of promotional response: An empirical generalization," Marketing Science, 18(4), 504-526.

Bell, David R., Ganesh Iyer, and V. Padmanabhan (2002), “Price Competition Under Stockpiling and Flexible Consumption,” Journal of Marketing Research, 39 (August), 292–303.

Macé, Sandrine, and Scott A. Neslin (2004), "The determinants of pre-and postpromotion dips in sales of frequently purchased goods," Journal of Marketing Research, 41(3), 339-350.

Mela, Carl F., Kamel Jedidi, and Douglas Bowman (1998), "The long-term impact of promotions on consumer stockpiling behavior," Journal of Marketing Research, 35(2), 250-262.

Disclaimer: All thoughts and ideas presented in this content are original from the author(s) with appropriate attribution to research cited here. Generative AI was used to increase readability of the content.