Aussies were the worst coronavirus panic buyers in the world

A new study by researchers at the University of New South Wales has revealed that Australians were the worst panic buyers in the world during the coronavirus crisis.

Though our infection rate was much lower, the study stated that the “level of panic” here was four to five times higher than it was in the UK and Italy, who were among the countries that were worst hit.

Researchers Dr. Tim Neal and Professor Mike Keane used search engine data from 54 countries to determine the intensity of the panic from late January to April, looking at searches for “toilet paper”, “panic buying”, “supermarket” and other keywords.

According to their report, Australia was “notable for the incredible speed and scale with which panic took hold in early March… We haven’t calculated who came second, who came third – it wasn’t a close contest.”

Supermarket spending rose by 24.1% during the coronavirus crisis and product restrictions were placed on everything from canned tomatoes to toilet paper.

Thankfully, supermarkets have now returned to normal, with online delivery returning and all product restrictions lifting. Better start using some of those pantry essentials we stocked up on.