"It's been nuts," said Costco CFO Richard Galanti on a Thursday earnings call with investors.

And now, a photo from an unidentified Costco reveals just how dire the problem is...

On a more serious note, big-box stores have been raking it in of late - with Costco reporting sales up 12% y/y, saying they had "benefited from an uptick in consumer demand in the fourth week of the reporting period" when coronavirus fears swept the country.

"We attribute this to concerns over the coronavirus," said the company.

Stock prices for Walmart and Target have also benefited from the spread of the deadly virus, as people preparing for a quarantine situation load up shopping carts with bottled water, canned soup, instant mac and cheese and everything else that they could possibly need to wait out the virus. But the panic-buying has been leading to shortages and leaving people on edge. -WaPo