Target CEO Brian Cornell said during an earnings call with investors Tuesday that customers have been stockpiling many items as they hunker down in the hopes of avoiding contagion.

"Over the last few days, as obviously everyone’s been reporting, we’ve certainly seen a U.S. consumer that’s starting to stock up on household essentials, disinfectants, food and beverage items — all those staple items that the CDC has recommended (people) add to their pantry," he said.

"And certainly we’ve seen aggressive shopping across the country in our stores. So, we’re working closely with our domestic vendors, with our partners to make sure that we’re elevating inventory in preparation for what we think is going to be a continued demand for stock-up items. We’re seeing that across our network, expect it to continue over the next few weeks, and we’ll watch it carefully over time."

Strack & Van Til Chief Marketing and Merchandising Officer Michael Tyson said the Highland-based supermarket chain, which has more than 20 locations across the Region, has seen sales of sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and hand soaps pick up.

CEO Jeff Strack said some Strack & Van Til stores ran completely out of sanitizers and cleaning products but the supermarket chain hoped to rectify that in a few days.