Stores are doing their best not to draw customers’ attention to the fact that shelves are much emptier than they usually are. Some stores are filling shelves with large, out of season items like camping chairs, or “decoys” of real products. One store went so far as to cover the shelves with a sheet that had a photo of fully stocked shelves printed on it. Shopping expert Phil Lempert says that there’s a method to the deception, as empty shelves can spark panic and cause people to start hoarding.
