A snowstorm is heading to Texas and people are taking preparation to another level. A woman unveiled an empty H-E-B grocery store after people went on a “panic buy” for the impending Texas Freeze.
TikTok user Yvette Castro (@yvejim45) stood in the middle of an H-E-B store and unveiled all of the empty shelves. “We’re too late panic buy for the snow storm,” she wrote in the text overlay. Throughout the video, the content creator revealed more shelves picked clean to Sarah McLachlan’s song, “Angel.” When the camera landed on her acquaintance, he looked sad at the vacant shelves while holding an empty basket. Then, Castro wrapped up the video by revealing more shelves.
Castro captioned her video which was originally in Spanish, “d*mn, what a brunch. They went to [H-E-B] and didn’t invite!”
The Daily Dot reached out to Castro via TikTok comment and H-E-B via press email. The video amassed 1 million views and in the comments viewers said they don’t understand why people panic buy.
@yvejim45 Damn, que gachos. Fueron a @H-E-B y no invitaron! #heb #snowstorm #texaswinterstorm #texaswinter2024 #texas ♬ Angel – Sarah McLachlan
“I was going to order my waters and Sam’s heb and target are sold out ! What is wrong with yall !” one viewer wrote.
“People panic too easily, I’ll survive for a week with a bottle water,” a second commented.
“Please tell me why I couldn’t get a zucchini today!!! Who is panic buying zucchini!?!” a third said.
However, other users understand why people do this.
“Yall non Texans laugh but our power grid SUCKS and we lose power for days at a time,” one user stated.
“After i lived through the 2021 texas freeze i dont blame people,” wrote a second user.
In addition, H-E-B responded in the comments, “We hope you were able to find what you needed! We are prepared for any weather, and are restocking these shelves as quick as we can!”
What causes people to panic buy? The answer is simple: Fear. “Uncertainty, fear, anxiety, a lack of trust, the perception of a crisis, social behaviors and conformity, a means of coping and a means of gaining control are all potential precipitators of panic buying behavior, according to a recent study from the State University of New York[1]. An individual’s perception of an environmental stressor is also important in predicting whether their reaction may be irrational,” per Forbes.