We can all agree that while lucrative – the 2021 Holiday Season didn’t go smoothly. In an article I wrote around this time last year – due to the Covid-19 pandemic, products were stuck on cargo ships out in the Pacific Ocean for months as U.S. ports worked around the clock trying to offload the goods and get them to their destination.
Steve Ricchiuto, chief U.S. economist at Mizuho Securities explained at the time to ABC News. “The result of that imbalance between supply and demand eliminated all the inventory and eliminated all the grease that allows the wheels of commerce to work smoothly.”
Fearing that their shelves would be bare for the holiday season – retailers ordered their goods early to ensure they had enough products for their customers come the holiday season. This was especially true for small business owners who risked having their clients shop elsewhere if they didn’t have a wide variety of inventory. Employers scrambled to purchase items in time for the holiday season, while consumers were encouraged to shop early to purchase specific items on their loved ones’ wish list.
Thankfully, over the last 12 months the supply chain disruption has leveled out and cargo ships are able to offload their cargo easier – ensuring retailers receive their goods on-time. This leads to more inventory for consumers to purchase and less out-of-stock items.
That’s not to say the 2021 Holiday Season hasn’t affected the holiday shopping in 2022. According to NBC Boston’s article, Holiday Deals: Shopping Early This Year Could Save You Money – the supply chain disruption created a surplus of products in 2022 that retailors are hoping to offload this holiday season. Mark Matthews, Vice President of Research Development, and Industry Analysis at National Retail Federation suggests, “As we move into the holidays, you need that shelf space. So, you need to be able to move those items in. The way that retailers tend to do that is to discount it.”
If you’re wondering if you should begin your shopping now or wait until Black Friday – it’s worth looking to see if you’re go-to retailers are having a sale.
At the time of writing this: Best Buy and Lowes have already released their Black Friday deals. Black Friday also came early at Costco – with the membership-only big-box retail store beginning their deals on October 31st. But don’t wait too long as it ends November 13th at their Brick-and-Mortar stores. If you missed out on their in-store deals, Costco will be hosting their on-line Black Friday deals starting the next day.
