Global supply chain issues haven’t gone anywhere and they have created an inventory strain for retailers across the country leading up to Black Friday. That’s why some retailers who are struggling to accumulate enough inventory and workers to keep up with demand are turning the traditional “day of deals“ into a month-long event. Best Buy, Walmart, and Target are just a few of the big box stores that have started running holiday discounts well before the traditional Black Friday start date. Some retailers started as early as September, as the global logjam has threatened to block them from bringing new products in from Asia during the traditional holiday shopping season. Because of all these issues, expect discounts to be modest this holiday season within the 5-25% range.
In more “return to the physical world of retail” news, e-commerce sales for consumer electronics giant Best Buy have finally slowed after a massive 174% boom as a result of pandemic-fueled temporary store closures. e-Commerce sales for the company were down 11% in the most recent quarter, as consumers are returning to stores. Best Buy’s distribution of sales is reflective of this trend. The company, over the last quarter, sold comparatively more appliances, and other large products that consumers prefer to see in-store. Holiday season expectations for Best Buy and other consumer electronics retailers remain strong despite the drop in e-commerce. With people getting boosters and states increasingly opening for business, this return to in-store shopping is a relieving signal of our national return to normalcy.
Holiday shopping may be trending towards what we think of as normal, but come on, in today’s day and age did you really think we would make it through a full Daily Scope without one appearance from the wacky side of tech? Introducing bots that do your holiday shopping for you. It’s a trend that’s catching on amongst a surprising demographic: parents. For a monthly fee consumers can sign up to have bots from companies such as SnailBot, NexC, and Mobile Monkey scour the web for the user’s desired products and get them shipped directly to their doorstep. How’s that for hands-off shopping?
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