Yes.
It is stupid, pathetic, weak, and every other adjective I can think of, but it got to stage of "everyone else has already stripped the shelves virtually bare, so if I don't get something now, there won't be anything left by the time I actually need it. **** it."
How am I supposed to feed...
Trouble is that overstocking causes prices to rise as business have to recoup the additional cost from the customer. Then they become uncompetitive and eventually go bust. It's another example of herd instinct.
It's a herd instinct. If everyone else has panic bought, you might as well do the same. Otherwise everything has already gone by the time you actually need it. Effectively it becomes a stampede that you can't escape or avoid even if you want to.
It has it's own logic and rationality, although...