As a potentially historic winter storm has already knocked out power to 112,000 homes and warnings are in place for some 140 million Americans, many in the storm’s path have rushed to stores to stock up on supplies. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Images of shelves stripped bare at stores across the country have found their way to social media as the storm started to sweep its way east from Texas on Saturday morning, with freezing rain and snow reports in Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Read More: How to Prepare for a Winter Storm Power Outage Images of Trader Joe’s stores in Washington, D.C., and Chelsea, New York City, show empty aisles. Meanwhile, further south, grocery stores in Charlotte, North Carolina, saw an influx of customers stocking up on water, non-perishable food items and canned goods, as well as batteries. Locals in the area reported that water was sold out at their Harris Teeter. But are people right to stock up, or is this another case of unwarranted panic buying? And what is the difference between being prepared and being paranoid? Hersh Shefrin, professor of behavioral finance at Santa Clara University, says that this phenomenon is not uncommon in the face of a major weather event or high-stress situation. “It is certainly reasonable to stock up for a few days,” he says, but once the buying is driven by a “fight or flight” emotional response, that’s when it transforms into panic buying. “There’s a difference between emergency preparedness and panic buying,” Shefrin tells…
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