Actually, Price gouging has it's benefits on the consumer too. Face it, if a retailer is forced to keep some commodity (say "ICE" for example) at a fixed price, then people that perhaps don't even need much "ice" that badly, tend to overbuy it while the getting is good. Thus those that really need the ice can't find it (perhaps they have meds that need to be kelp cool). So a person that really really needs the ice will buy a few bags (just what they need) at a high price, while those that don't really need it will pass on hording an expensive item.
Price gouging often is misunderstood in this manner and does have a place in disasters... IMHO... Hording needed items is common nature, Price gouging limits hording and makes it more available for people really in need.
Your theory would have been correct in 1960, when we lived in a cash economy. But with most of us carrying several thousand dollars worth of credit in our wallets, the $10 pricetag on a bag of ice that I only "think" I need isn't going to be a deterrent to me buying it.