As grocery stores ran out of toilet paper and sanitation products last March, Benjy Renton scoured the internet for supplies he and his parents could use to protect their home in Rye, New York, against the coronavirus.

Most online retailers were out of hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes, but Renton, 21, found that Massachusetts-based business supply company W.B. Mason was still taking orders, even though it didn't have the items in stock.