What to expect when Black Friday shopping

The holidays are coming and it’s time to hit the shops! Retailers and consumers around the nation are anticipating a holiday season that’s a lot closer to pre-pandemic days than last year’s festivities.

With that in mind, here’s a look at what you might expect to see this holiday shopping season:

 Supply shortages

Suppliers are struggling to stay ahead of shoppers’ demands while still catching up on the manufacturing lag they experienced during the lockdown. Suppliers are also dealing with a labor shortage, which makes it challenging to meet their own manufacturing quotas. Finally, many manufacturers rely on other suppliers for the materials they need for fulfilling their product demands — shipping delays and worldwide supply chain bottlenecks are slowing down their production processes even further.

Shipping delays

Even when manufacturers manage to keep the supply of their products ahead of the demand, there can be significant delays when the goods land in the U.S. The backup has since decreased in intensity but is still present, and will likely continue to be a kink in the delivery chain deep into 2022.

Understaffed shops

Salespeople are likely to be even more overworked and stressed than they usually are during this time of year, as employers face massive staff shortages and are forced to place extra responsibilities on their workers.  Retailers are struggling to provide their standard level of service with fewer hands on deck, and the harried salespeople you encounter may likely be doing the jobs of several workers. Fewer deals and higher prices. In fact, the prices you’ll find on toys, clothing, electronics and other items will likely be higher than usual, thanks to factors like inflation, the rising cost of fuel and supply that falls well below demand.

Shop early

Shop early to avoid facing bare shelves and a delivery date that’s weeks past the holidays.

If you’re the kind of shopper who doesn’t think about gift shopping until two weeks before the holidays, this may be the year to rethink your approach. A scarcity in supply, delivery backups, staff shortages and high prices will likely make holiday shopping more challenging this year. However, by planning ahead and starting early, you can enjoy this season’s gift shopping and still stick to your budget.

Happy shopping!