During the holiday shopping season, e-commerce faces challenges such as supply chain and returns

According to an ACG Global survey, 41% of retailers surveyed have faced supply chain challenges in the past 18 months. These issues include delayed or cancelled shipments of inventory and raw materials (27%), insufficient ability to obtain and analyze data (6%), lack of supply chain management expertise (5%) and high transportation costs (4%).

Tinglong Dai, a business professor at Johns Hopkins University , said this holiday season "is expected to see widespread delivery delays and shortages." Consumers will be forced to settle for what's available, rather than what they want . It will also be difficult for sellers to offer discounts as usual.

Another challenge facing retailers is the surge in returns after the holidays. Somdutta Singh, founder of a cross-border retail company , said that the return rate for online purchases is higher than average. "Like last year, there will be more obstacles this year, and consumers cannot view and compare in-store products, so the return rate may be higher. "

"Retailers need to think about the probability of returns coming into the holiday season and how to handle those returns , " he said. The process is very costly for retailers.

Adding to the challenge is rapidly changing consumer preferences. For example, after the outbreak began in March 2020 , items such as toilet paper and hand sanitizer became hot sellers , and home entertainment products and fitness equipment also became popular choices , Singh said .

"This year, as more people spend time at home, we'll see these products continue to gain traction as holiday gifts," he said . This has rarely been the case during previous holiday shopping seasons, and the change in consumer trends is difficult to predict.

Senior analyst Alla Valente warned sellers that "unplanned disruptions" are likely to continue for the rest of the year . Sellers should place orders earlier to ensure they have the right products in stock for the holiday season. However, she added that doing so also means there is a risk of misjudging trends.

“From a brand perspective , sellers must better manage the risks in their supply chain, better understand all the risks that affect their supply chain, and use this information to better plan, forecast, allocate and improve their own supply chain ,” Alla Valente said .

Holiday Shopping Season

E-commerce

retail