Will "inflation prepping" cause further inflation?

It’s not a bad idea to stock up on essential supplies when it’s cheaper to buy in bulk. It’s when stocking up becomes hoarding we have a problem.

A while back I was in a discussion with someone who was trying to make the point that deflation was actually a good thing for the economy. I think your question, @Strauss illustrates exactly why the opposite is true. Inflation drives people to buy things TODAY because people expect them to be more expensive tomorrow. that stimulates the economy and leads to job growth and the inverse is true with deflation.

I know that’s not exactly what was asked, but it’s speaking to the central question you’re asking whether there is a psychological force to inflation that can perpetuate inflation. I’m not an economist, but I believe this is a known phenomena. Interest rates are the tools for cooling things off to a more manageable rate of growth. Also, staples like basic foods and household goods are a tiny fraction of the overall economy.

It depends how much stocking up is done. If it strains supply, then it’ll cause price inflation.

Not inflation but tariffs.

I buy things on sale but I don’t have the room to do big time stocking up. I think the majority of people don’t have the space to do major food hoarding of a type that will impact the economy.

Perishables are difficult to stock pile.

If I had the money, I’d have bought a warehouse and filled it with toilet paper.
In pandemic/Trump times, TP was more valuable than gold.

I did buy a coffee maker recently, which I have the same one but I figured if this one goes, in a few years and it’s more expensive, I’d be wishing for the days of the Costco sale, so I picked it up and put it in the basement.