Be Prepared to Search Much Harder For Holiday Bargains. The Reason? The Supply Chain.

Days like Black Friday have often meant shoppers who act quickly are rewarded with a chance to find lower prices on items they want to buy. Many shoppers center their plans around looking for holiday bargains in some way. They might head off early in the morning to stores that promise a discount for the first people who show up. They might look online for prices that promise to be a lot lower than what they’ll find in conventional stores. These are some of the ways that shoppers can use to make sure they’re making the most of their holiday funds.

Supply Side Issues

The rise of COVID-19 has created all sorts of disruptions in the retailing and other sectors. When the pandemic first appeared, officials decided it made sense to advice people to stay home and avoid large gatherings. For many people, this meant a reduced holiday celebration with far fewer members and less gift giving occasions.

After health officials were able to create an effective vaccine to mitigate the world effects of the virus, officials told people they could begin to loosen such restrictions and get together. This meant holiday celebrations could once again take place. Unfortunately, while people are finding it won’t compromise their health to have a holiday party, retailers are not as lucky. The pandemic continues to affect their ability to provide the kind of holiday bargains in 2021 that so many have come to expect when they go shopping.

Merchandise is Stuck

The impact of the pandemic has led to problems getting goods from one place to another. Many major retailers are reliant on the flow of goods from other parts of the globe to keep their shelves stocked. Items like clothing often rely on raw materials that are grown in other parts of the world. Retailers are finding it hard to get these items from one place to the next.

Cargo ships are often used to bring goods to the United States. That requires them to dock at ports. It also requires workers to unload the goods from the ships and then transport them to the stores. Many ports are facing problems such as congestion. Workers who can bring goods to stores have been in shorter supply for many reasons including fears of problems with wages that are not high enough to tempt entry level workers.

Lack of Holiday Items

Retailers usually provide discounts for a few reasons. One reason is to attract shoppers to their door knowing they’ll buy other items at a greater price. Another reason is to get rid of their excess inventory. This can create lots of chances for shoppers to find a bargain. Unfortunately, with stalled inventory and often empty shelves, many retailers are far less motivated to offer their shoppers any kind of discount at all.

Store owners are finding it harder than ever to simply put lots of items on the shelves. Many basics are in short supply. This includes holiday decorations as well as well items like kitchen supplies that people need each day. Holiday specific items are in even shorter supply. That’s because retailers rely on cargo ships and other transport methods to bring them to the stores and ready to put out weeks before shoppers begin to think about their holiday shopping plans.

As retailers are finding it harder to get many holiday items in front of the public, this means they may have no incentive at all to drop their prices. Many retailers are reporting that items are snapped up quickly once they arrive on the shelves. When retailers know they have a ready audience for the things they would like to sell, they are far less inclined to offer any kind of discount at all.

Many people may have to find alternative ways to celebrate the holidays. Homemade gifts are getting more popular. The same is true of outlets like rummage sales and other forms of discount holiday buying that don’t requiring spending a lot of much money.