Out-of-stock ratio increased by 300%! How to spend Black Friday in the United States

There are still 9 days left until Black Friday in the United States. According to normal procedures in the past, peak-season goods should have arrived at the west coast of the United States early on, and should have been shipped to major warehouses and shopping malls, waiting for the holiday sales boom. However, based on this year's situation, a considerable number of American consumers still cannot buy the goods they need on Black Friday.

Retail consulting firm Strategic Resource Group said that 20% to 25% of the goods currently stranded on ships are likely to not be able to catch up with Black Friday.

Even daily necessities such as beverages and toilet paper are in short supply. Some American consumers have been frantically @US President Biden on Twitter because of the "empty shelves."

Although he had ordered a solution to port congestion in October, the current situation shows that the problem of goods being unable to reach retailers' terminals is still ongoing.

According to a software maker that tracks e-commerce purchases, out-of-stock rates for some specific items have risen 300% this year compared with last year .

Data shows that electronic products, sporting goods, clothing, and baby products have always been among the top out-of-stock items online, while holiday decorations, books, alcohol, and even medical drugs have also become important categories of out-of-stock items during the U.S. holidays.

In mid-October, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles said that there were about 200,000 containers piled up at the port, and 25% of container cargo had stayed at the dock for more than 13 days. As the holiday season approaches, strikes are still ongoing in the United States, and logistics and transportation will continue to be affected, and the cargo backlog will continue to worsen.

Although data shows that 65% of American consumers plan to shop early this year and wait to receive holiday packages at home, sellers have not ushered in the long-awaited peak season atmosphere due to blocked seaports and logistics congestion. Instead, they are saying that this year's peak season may be "cool" due to storage capacity restrictions, soaring storage fees and rising advertising costs.

How do American consumers survive the “Black Friday” shortage?