Shorter holiday shopping season could impact shipping

There are 26 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the traditional holiday shopping season. That’s five fewer days than last year.

Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said shoppers could feel the effects of a shipping season that’s nearly a week shorter.

“It has the potential to impact consumers’ expectations about convenience, and again, their expectations that they can get something, you know, if not in the next two hours, certainly in the next two days,” Shay said.

He said retailers plan well in advance and are prepared for the shorter season.

“One of the benefits, or maybe the lessons from the pandemic, was the need to invest in supply chain resiliency and the relationships between retailers and their partners in the shipping industry throughout the supply chain have been made more effective,” Shay said.

Compared to last year, the NRF forecasts spending between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31 to be 2.5% to 3.5% higher, totaling between $979.5 billion and $989 billion. The trade group says for many goods, inflation is flat to negative, and some major retailers have announced lower prices on select items.

During a call with reporters, NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said it’s hard to measure the impact recent hurricanes will have on holiday spending.

“Certainly consumers and households that are in the affected area will be certainly focusing on spending for repairs and damages, especially for clothing, electronics and home furnishings, rather than on non-necessities, so it’ll be just an adjustment in their budget on what they’re going to be spending for. But it’s really too early to know the full impact on retail,” Kleinhenz said.