Are the supply chain issues going to ruin Christmas shopping?
The supply chain changes may just impact gift shopping this year.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
It is that time of year for gift shopping. Let’s unwrap ways to have the best Christmas!
Oh no…
…our Christmas…
…it’s broken!
This year supply chains have been struggling. Shopping online for gifts isn’t as easy as it was in previous years. Prices have increased and items have been harder to get in time for Christmas. According to the Federal Reserve, they estimate that prices will continue to increase throughout the rest of the year. If you don’t order or buy gifts now, they may not arrive to your loved ones on time.
Online shopping spikes during the Pandemic that impacted everyone around the world. Thanks to the pandemic, many business shrunk and in order to earn money they went to the Online shopping path. Now that the Pandemic has calmed down, some businesses have tried to open back up. Hiring quickly became a problem. While others did not have enough product in their inventory to restock. This has been a huge problem with companies who have a very complex supply chain.
Delivery delays affects the US postal service during the holidays (Christmas) of 2020 whenever the ballots from the Presidential election and glut of packages created the perfect disastrous storm. There are shipping container shortages and a backup located at the coast forced cargo ships to float in the Hudson Bay and outside of Los Angeles for weeks. On top of this, there are not enough of truck drivers to pick up goods and warehouses are struggling to hire.
Not only are the supply chain struggles happening in the US, it’s happening all over the world. Some places won’t be able to get the popular Christmas dinner, Turkey, because of the supply chains. Most people prefer to shop online for Christmas gifts. Websites like Amazon are having a harder time keeping things in stock and delivered to people before or on Christmas.
Don’t panic quite yet!
You still have the opportunity to order gifts in time. Items like batteries, quality TVs, games & music, game consoles, laptops and PC accessories, phones, bicycles, books, cordless stick vacuums, apparel, stand mixers and new model routers can be bought now and delivered on time. While other items if you are lucky can wait to be purchased are portable radios, smart home gear, home security, air purifiers & dehumidifiers, digital storage, Chromebooks, robot vacuums, smart watches/fitness trackers, networking gear and outdoor gear. Some other alternatives for gifts can be to buy from smaller businesses, hand-crafted gifts or thrift stores. You might just find a treasure to give to a family member.
The only issue with buying gifts is keeping the shipping deadlines in mind. Postal services like UPS and FedEx can only deliver your gifts before a certain date depending on your type of package. Anything after that date will not be delivered for Christmas on time. These Postal services really recommend mailing packages and letters earlier than later.
Will shopping for gifts go to back to normal? Someday the rise in product prices will slow down. Many reporters say it will take some time. With time, we will work to expand our ports and improve our shipping container storage. They plan to decrease the possibility of something like this happening again.
For now, make the best of your Christmas this year. Christmas is not always about bought gifts. Gifts can be love and happiness. Be sure to wish your relatives and loved ones a very merry Christmas!
