The New Way to Shop During the Pandemic

By Giselle Nunez

Freshman, Pre-Science, IUPUI

The New Way to Shop During the Pandemic

Since Covid-19 came into Indiana on March 7, 2020 there have been many drastic changes like social distancing, which means staying at least six feet from people when you are out in public to try to keep us safe and prevent the virus from spreading even more. Some of the other changes that are being made are that schools are closing and switching to e-learning, and many stores and restaurants are closing or changing their hours and only offering orders to go. Ever since the outbreak everyone had to adapt to changes and new rules.

I am a freshman at IUPUI and living with my parents. On March 10 I first heard about IUPUI closing campus and that no one could be able to stay there. I was a little worried because I didn’t know how long campus was going to be closed for. Then they announced that they were closing for the rest of the semester.

One of the major changes that is happening is shopping. Here in Indiana, COVID-19 has caused many stores to temporarily close, and only the essential stores can remain open. According to Indiana’s COVID-19 information page, the essential stores that can remain open in Indiana are grocery stores, pharmacies, organizations that provide charitable and social services, religious entities, the post office, and things like that.

Whenever the pandemic first started many people began panicking. I live in Decatur Township and I started noticing that many stores and malls were closing, but only the essential stores would remain open. Then we were advised to stock up on items so that we don’t have to go out as much and put ourselves at risk. Many people started to go out and stock up on food, water, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and many more things ‘til the stores eventually ran out. Soon they were struggling to keep with the demand, which caused many stores to put restrictions on how many cases of water or bundles of toilet paper a shopper could buy.

My mom and I went to our local Walmart to buy supplies like toilet paper and disinfecting wipes, but once we got in there, we realized that it was really empty. We go to get the stuff that we need but when we got to the disinfecting wipes, there was none left, but a woman had about 15 packets of those wipes. She kindly asked us if we wanted any because she took all of them and gave us about 5 packets.

This also led to a raise of prices on some products because of high demand. This also would cause more panic because the people who needed these supplies, like hand sanitizer, couldn’t even get it at any local stores because people were grabbing a whole bunch for themselves. Many people would have to drive miles away just to get the supplies they need.

Since these stores are open to the public there are new rules that some of these stores have set to make sure we don’t put each other at risk. I recently went to a Walgreens that was near me to buy some eye drops, and at the entrance a sign said that they highly encourage everyone to wear gloves and a mask to prevent from spreading the virus. When I went to go to pay for it I saw that on the floor they had put place marks where every person waiting in line should be standing.

It was pretty weird at first because I haven’t seen anything like it, but then I understood the purpose for it. It’s not only in Walgreens according to wfyi Indianapolis. Here in Indiana, a lot of stores have installed plexiglass between cashiers and customers and put stickers on the floor to show customers how far apart they are supposed to be. And a lot of grocery stores and supermarkets are telling people to shop alone and to not take your whole family because it will reduce the number of people that are in the stores. The most important rule of them all is that if you are experiencing any symptoms of the virus, which according to the CDC includes fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell, you should stay home because you can put somebody at risk.

Going through all of these rapid changes, I have learned to adapt to them. I started to do online shopping for most of my supplies that can be delivered like clothes and shoes. If they can’t deliver or I have to go and get it myself like food, I will go out and make sure I stay as safe as I can; I even go out wearing gloves and a facemask because you can never be too careful.

According to Statista at home delivery has increased to 90%. This can be more convenient if you want to practice social distancing. According to the CDC there is a very low risk that it will spread if you order your products online, so this is the safest way to shop because you can wait for it to come to your house, or you can go and pick it up. If you do go and pick it up, make sure that you wear mask and gloves to avoid as much contact as possible. According to the Real Deal, if you order from Doordash you can save on your first order. DoorDash also is partnering with organizations to deliver around one million pounds of groceries to vulnerable communities in need. Uber and Uber Eats are waiving delivery fees in cities to support small businesses.

And according to Good Housekeeping many restaurants like Chipotle and Buffalo Wild Wings are giving out free delivery when you make a purchase online. This is a very good solution because it can help out many people. I have ordered take-out from Buffalo Wild Wings but I thought we had to go and pick it up until I saw that there was a delivery option. I was amazed because I didn’t know that they were having free delivery which made it more convenient for my friends and I.

The way that I am dealing with all of this is doing a lot of online shopping and trying not to go outside as much because I don’t want to put myself at risk. I am hoping that everyone does stay safe while shopping in public so that it won’t continue to spread.