There is no doubt, the global supply chain is one of the most popular topics lately. It is hard to escape this topic whether you are watching the news or scrolling through your social media accounts. Delays and shortages in the supply chain have left mountains of different products stuck in factories. Day by day, people starting to notice the impact of global supply chain issues. You can notice that many products you used to buy are not on shelves anymore. Since the holiday season is near, today our experts from the national shipping company of Saudi Arabia will discuss this topic. Besides, we will try to explain current global holiday shopping issues that becoming worse. So, let’s see what causes these issues and how should you act in the days that come.
What will cause global shopping holiday issues?
The holidays are the time of the year when we finally get some days off work. Besides, the children are out of school and families are spending a lot of time together. As a consumer society, we will have enough time for shopping in the days that come. However, global holiday shopping issues will affect our holiday customs this year. Numerous problems around the supply chain will have the final word when it comes to the availability of certain items. Our logistics experts for air freight to Saudi Arabia will help you realize why supply chain issues will become more visible during holidays.
Firstly, we can’t deny that falling demand had become serious even in the first half of 2020. This continues with port traffic jams and blockages across the supply chain worldwide. Although demand grows, the lack of containers and dock workers is something that makes the situation worse and worse. For mentioned issues, the situation in the market changes. Constant delays and shortages that cargo shipping companies in Saudi Arabia facing will change products prices, for sure.
One of the global holiday shopping issues will be higher prices and fewer discounts. Moreover, some trade experts are forecasting seriously increasing prices during holidays. How much money will we pay more for some products? Well, from 5% to even 30% during the holidays.
Wondering why this is happening?
It is not that easy anymore to conduct your business and get your products from point A to point B. Workers shortages, port traffic jams, and delays will make cargo transportation a lot harder than it was before. But that is not the end of the story about the problems of running your business. One more thing that contributes to global holiday shopping issues is higher prices for raw materials and labor. About a 23% increase in the cost of product in China without the logistics affect the budgets of retailers. This is why we did mention increasing prices.
For instance, if you are a retailer, these changes in the market will make you change the way of running your business. Higher costs you will need to pay to your suppliers will make you think twice about your orders. All these changes will force you to find a new approach for running your business. Should you higher or lower the number of products you will take? Also, you will need to prepare your budget for shipping and logistics costs too. If you want to avoid traffic jams and delays you will opt for fast solutions such as our air cargo from USA to Saudi Arabia. When your products finally get to you, they will be more valuable than they used to be. At the same time, this explains higher prices across stores.
Lack of workers had caused the most significant global holiday shopping issues
We can not skip mentioning problems that occur during the Pandemic. It had changed the entire world in so many ways. Many employees around the world have been forced to stay at home with children. Unluckily, many have not returned to work. In April 2021, 4 million people in the United States of America quit their jobs across many industries. We could see shortages in retail trade, warehousing, transportation, etc. That is a serious impact on the global supply chain in a big way. To get people back to work, many suppliers and factory owners started to offer higher salaries for labor. To cope with more outgoings, they will have to increase prices for the products they are making.
Still, a huge number of containers pass through large ports which means the product will be in the hands of consumers soon. But the truth is this process is slower than ever. Besides conducting logistics services internationally, many shelves in stores will remain with a lack of products. And now when the holidays are just around the corner, demand will increasingly grow.
Consumers will want to get a lot of products, wrap them, and put them under the Christmas tree. But will the shipping crisis affects our plans this year? This is very possible to happen, according to trade experts. Don’t get surprised if shelves across the malls become a bit more barren than in years past.
What you should know is that every product you plan to buy it may be running late. Unluckily, many items will be delivered to stores at the last minute, although both wholesalers and retailers giving their best to speed up the job. Will online shopping will help you stay away from all these global holiday shopping problems?
Be a conscious consumer this season
When it comes to online shopping, things are not better at all. Constant delays with any e-commerce orders are additional global holiday shopping issues. It getting harder and harder for supply chains to keep up with current demand. Many people believe we can not learn how to appreciate certain things in our life until we lose them. Thus, now when becomes harder to get products, we can rethink our shopping habits. This will help us identify what are our essentials and what are those things we can live without. Our advice is to avoid the holiday rush and shop wanted products early. Also, try to substitute certain products with eco-friendly products. If you can’t find a wanted product in the Mall, support small businesses and get unique products made with love.
