Yes, the Walmart here regularly runs out of everyday items as well. The empty shelf space will usually last for weeks or months at a time. I always figured it was because of proximity to the Mexican border and the management wanted all the illegals to feel right at home. Now I have to rethink that theory.
The chatter I’ve picked up has been blaming it on low staffing due to the economy, that perhaps the stock is sitting back on the shipping dock with nobody on hand to put it on the shelves. And it doesn’t hurt Walmart if the customer has to settle for buying a name-brand version of what they need.
I won’t, tho. I’ll just keep an active list of buy-aheads going, rather than waiting till I’m out.
Since our househole is small, we have a small 4 cup coffee pot. I finally figured out that the only time our Walmart restocked the small filters was for the Christmas season.
So I just started buying a little more than a year’s supply then. Probably have other stuff that way too.
However, for everyday items, I think running out in a non emergency situation is unusual too.