In light of growing public concern surrounding the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), consumers have increased their spending on hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes. As a result of high demand, stores like CVS Health (CVS  ) and Walgreens (WBA  ) have been working extra hard to make sure their supply is ready. Some stores in certain locations have experienced temporary shortages, though, while online retailers have seen elevated consumer spending as supplies run low.

Note: Hand sanitizers and disinfectant wipes aren't recommended by experts as primary methods to stay healthy during this time. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to prevent infection is to wash your hands with soap and water.

Hand sanitizers

According to CVS, hand sanitizers such as Purell, which is manufactured by the privately-held GOJO Industries, have been of particular interest to consumers during this time. Another well-known hand sanitizer brand is Germ-X, which is produced by the private Vi-Jon Laboratories. A CVS spokesperson warned, "This demand may cause temporary shortages at some store locations and we re-supply those stores as quickly as possible."

Even stores like Bath & Body Works, owned by L Brands (LB  ), are seeing increased sales, although the company hasn't reported shortages as of yet. "The hand sanitizer business is about 5% of the total business," L Brands CFO Stuart Burgdoerfer pointed out on a call with analysts. "It is presently growing at a very high rate for reasons we would all understand," he said.

Disinfectant wipes

In addition to hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes are high in demand right now. That includes products from companies like Clorox and British consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser, which owns Clorox's major competitor Lysol. Neither Clorox nor Lysol intend to experience supply shortages during this time.

"We're continuing to make capacity investments to ensure that we don't run out at the peak for some of these products that we have that, frankly, consumers demand and we can't fulfill," said Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

As the market went down this week, Clorox (CLX  ) stock surged.

Online retail

When it comes to e-commerce, typically Amazon (AMZN  ) hits it out of the park. This time, however, Amazon has seen its supplies run low, and as a result, third-party sellers are stepping in. Due to scarcity and increased demand, many third-party sellers are elevating prices more than what would be considered reasonable.

Amazon has been taking measures to eliminate this kind of price gouging.

Walmart (WMT  ) and Target's (TGT  ) online inventories for hand sanitizers like Purell and Germ-X, as well as disinfectant wipes, have been running low as well. At times, they've only had the products available in stores, if that, and not ready for shipping.