I can say with some minor inside knowledge, I don’t always push a broom, that a number of grocery and convenience stores have definitely ramped back the ordering and have little to no backstock.
Most grocery stores don’t have a warehouse area much larger than a two car garage, floor space that is. Keeping any more than just what fits on the shelf is a challenge to say the least.
My side gig, the orders are placed twice a week, and only enough to cover the days in between. Especially the items that are short dated like sandwiches, milk and bread.
Other items, we literally can’t get enough thanks to vendors who do the ordering, certain energy drinks for example, I need 6 cases twice a week and only get two.
But certain corporations limit the number of items that can be ordered or when they can be ordered.
Only 3 left before the order can be placed for example.
Grocery stores also charge a warehouse space fee to the manufacturer. Every slot in the warehouse costs the manufacturer a percentage of their profits.
So anymore the shipment comes in and is immediately broken down and essentially shipped directly to the stores rather than sitting in the warehouse.
Convenience stores are run through both warehouses and food distributors so there are added reasons for stuff to be out of stock.
Personal opinion, theree days is a pipe dream in many situations.
Major power outage, we are talking hours not days before the food starts to hit critical temperatures in the coolers and freezers.
There’s a reason why the health department generally requires temperature checks every two hours.
So long windy response cut short, yes there have been a lot of empty and nearly empty shelves lately.
I guess the question becomes, do you want to pay more to cover the wasted stuff that goes out of date so the shelves are full?