In any other year, expectations of strong sales for the upcoming holiday shopping season would be the fulfillment of a dream for retailers. Instead, it’s shaping up to be something of a nightmare.
Consumers are clearly eager to spend. The question is: Will there be product on the shelves for them to buy?
The dilemma can, of course, be traced to the impact of COVID-19 on production and distribution. In the early days of the pandemic, that meant shuttered factories, mostly in China, and the temporary drying up of supply lines. Now, on top of the possibility of another wave of plant closures due to the Delta variant, there’s the longer-term problem of getting goods to market.
