Port strike shouldn’t affect holiday shopping: Expert

With the threat of a major port strike looming that could affect US supply chains, consumers may be wondering if holiday shopping could be impacted. Naveen Jaggi, JLL Americas president of retail, sits down with Josh Lipton on Asking for a Trend to discuss what shoppers can expect.

Jaggi tells Yahoo Finance, “In terms of holiday product, [retailers] have their product in the States, they have their distribution centers or at the stores… Most of the items that are being sold, the toys, the electronics and the soft goods, clothings, that are pretty predominant when it comes to holiday sales, those come from Asia,” meaning they would not be affected by the port workers on the East and Gulf Coasts going on strike.

“The real big challenge would be whether or not at the back end of the holiday season when replenishment comes for the majority of products you may want to buy, there could be a shortage of products going into the second half of December… Right now, October and November don’t look like an issue” for holiday shopping if the strike does take effect and impact supply chains, but “December and the second half of that month, [is] where you may see shelves impacted.”

He says that the pandemic forced retailers to be more prepared for supply chain disruptions. “Retailers got smart about how much inventory they need to keep on hand in their distribution centers as a way to avoid any potential impacts, whether it’s a pandemic in 2020 or a strike in 2024. They’ve gotten smarter, they’ve gotten better, and inventory management is key.”

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend.

This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.