Seeing an improvement soon in the supply chain is not in the cards. It is likely that is going to continue for the rest of the year and beyond, but some things will improve.
Most people do a lot of their shopping online, that's a given, but whether you are shopping online or in person you will face supply chain problems.
"As we get closer to the holidays this obviously affects Christmas gifts-- buying holiday gifts, and a lot of people rely on sales that come later in the season, usually. That traditional Black Friday, day after Thanksgiving, that might not be the way to go this year," says Chandra Steele, features writer, PCMag.com
Expect continued problems related to shortages in tech that need computer chips. So, popular game consoles, computers, and even cars could be in limited supply. It is potentially a good time to manage expectations for kids who have tech high up on their Christmas list.
"It is very volatile because of the pandemic. There is really no way to know, but certainly some things like chip manufacturing is going to go into 2022, maybe even beyond that. The way they think it might level off, economists say, is that demand might slightly go down," says Steele.
The port delays are likely to clear up before manufacturing issues do. However, they will still impact the holidays.
Shopping local could be a solution, though you are likely to find fewer deep discounts. It would, however, be a welcome help to struggling local businesses that are still limping along affected by the pandemic.
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