(ConservativeStar.com) – One book by Dr. Seuss’ famous books is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” In 2021, it’s not a mean-spirited green guy who stapled antlers to his dog’s head, it’s the nemesis that has (literally) been plaguing the world for almost two years — the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect it has had on the supply chain is startling.
The latest new reports are encouraging us all to get our Christmas shopping done early this year due to delays in the supply chain resulting from COVID shutdowns. https://t.co/RliGIj3Dag
— The_Citizen (@The_Citizen) November 7, 2021
The shipping containers filled with the stock retailers hoped would be on their shelves are languishing off the American coastline because the ports are filled up already. That in turn, is largely because there aren’t enough trucks/drivers to pick them up and haul them away.
There’s a whole laundry list of logistical terms to explain that, but the long and the short of it is that even early shoppers are finding that they cannot get the gifts they were hoping for. Adobe Analytics is a company that tracks e-commerce transactions. It reported online shoppers received over two billion “out-of-stock messages” in October alone. When compared to the pre-pandemic 2019 numbers, those figures increased 325%.
According to a Morning Consult survey published October 15, 51% of all adults in the country reported an item they were looking for was out of stock in stores, and 54% found that to be true online. The shortages combined with staggering inflation rates not seen in 30 years have some experts predicting that the presents people do manage to buy might come with a dose of sticker shock.
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