Toilet rolls are particularly prone to this as they are bulky, they take up a lot of storage space for a low value. Supermarkets cannot keep reserves easily so if demand suddenly surges there is a delay both in getting more in and creating capacity to ship them on to stores. If you double the quantity of toilet rolls on a delivery lorry that is going to see a lot of other stock, probably more valuable stuff, being left behind at the warehouse.
I see The Daily Mail are still illustrating the story with pictures taken at Costco. I’m sure they know that Costco is a wholesaler where small shopkeepers would buy their stock, hence bulk purchases being an everyday scene, but it must somehow suit their agenda to show a picture of a brown person with a trolley full of toilet rolls.
Maybe they should go to an Andrex warehouse and pretend it's someone's garage. Clickbait heaven!
I had my bi-monthly delivery of toilet paper over the weekend and I felt really guilty. We buy from Amazon on subscribe and save, and have done for years. Now I feel like I'm going to be accused of panic buying!