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It may not be until early October, but due to major supply chain issues, labor shortages and other issues, economists and other experts expect delays in significant shipping, higher shipping costs, and product shortages during the holiday season. Indeed, several US ports are already facing record backlogs, there are not enough freight containers to ship everything and many retailers cannot meet consumer demand. “Buyers don’t wait until Black Friday to shop because they feel items are likely to run out. And because so many people have a head start, we would expect to see more sales start early and less focus on a particular day like Black Friday, ”says Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert at NerdWallet. We can already see it: on October 4, Amazon launched its “Epic Daily Deals” for the holidays, as well as its Holiday Prep Shop. Walmart has also started offering a number of deals, and Target announced that its price match guarantee will begin on October 10.
In particular, these are things that you might want to buy as soon as possible.
Game consoles
If you are looking for a new game console like a PS5 or Xbox Series X, this can be difficult. This is thanks to a global chip shortage impacting electronics manufacturers, which could last until 2023. At the time of writing, Walmart had Playstation 5s in stock, but plenty of places. were exhausted.
Toys
Thanks in part to shipping container shortages and port blockades, toys are among the most common items from China that are stranded at sea. Ramhold said: “The toy makers knew there would be problems. supply for this holiday season and they weren’t silent, they began to warn consumers that the year was going to be tough for toys. Many manufacturers were already ramping up production in an attempt to keep up with demand, but the toy supply will be subject to the same shipping delays and labor shortages as other industries. This is Amazon’s list of the most popular toys of 2021.
Books
Julie Ramhold, consumer analyst at DealNews, said the authors warned that publishers would struggle to print more copies of books, in part because of supply chain disruptions, but also because of a labor shortage. “As such, many authors encourage readers to pre-order the books they are most interested in, or if they are already out, then go ahead and buy copies now. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that if you try to buy closer to the holidays, you might not be able to get this bestseller until next year, ”says Ramhold. Here are the best-selling books on Amazon and its publisher’s picks.
Shoes and clothing
Big companies like Nike and Adidas have warned of major shortages this holiday season, with pandemic lockdowns lowering the productivity of their Vietnam-based factories. (You can buy the Nike products available here and the Adidas products available here.) Nike notes on its website that even with advance purchase, the extended shipping times have been changed to account for factory delays. McGrath says, “Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia handle a lot of global manufacturing and unfortunately these countries are also overwhelmed by Delta pushes affecting factory capacity. to operate.
And in general, the clothing industry has experienced significant shortages since the start of the pandemic, with factories closing and supply constraints presenting supply issues. Kristin McGrath, shopping expert at BlackFriday.com, says brands have worked hard to find other ways to produce and bring their products to the consumer. “However, it’s still likely that we’ll see less clothing supply and higher prices, which means you should order these items as soon as possible,” McGrath explains.
Decor
The holiday decoration will be one of the items that you had better buy when you see something rather than waiting for it to go on sale as there is no guarantee that it will be restocked. “We have already seen Halloween items slower to arrive in some areas and we expect other seasonal items related to the winter holiday season to experience the same issues. Warehouse stores like Costco have already put winter holiday decorations on the shelves, but once they are sold they often won’t be restocked, ”says Ramhold.
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