This is just more evidence America is on its way to becoming Venezuela as shortages of items persist, and the highest inflation in four decades is crushing households.
Infant formula is in short supply as US retailers begin rationing. A combination of COVID-19-related snarled supply chains and a major baby formula recall earlier this year exacerbated shortages.
At least 29% of the top-selling baby formula products were out of stock by mid-March, according to an analysis by Datasembly, which tracked baby formula stock at 11,000 retailers.
“This is a shocking number that you don’t see for other categories,” Ben Reich, CEO of Datasembly, told CBS News.
“We’ve been tracking it over time and it’s going up dramatically. We see this category is being affected by economic conditions more dramatically than others,” Reich added.
Now America’s second-largest pharmacy, Walgreens, with over 9,000 locations, announced it would ration baby formula. A spokesman for the company confirmed consumers are only limited to three baby formula products per transaction due to “increased demand and various supplier issues.”
Besides COVID-related shortage of formula and other vital ingredients, packaging woes, soaring freight costs, and labor shortages, a major baby formula recall in January exacerbated shortages.
Consumers have noticed shortages at retailers as internet searches for “baby formula shortage” rocket to the highest level ever.
This is just more evidence America is on its way to becoming Venezuela as shortages of items persist, and the highest inflation in four decades is crushing households.