There are many problems during the peak season. 77% of American consumers encountered problems when shopping in October

As sales increase during the peak shopping season, sellers will also encounter many consumers who provide feedback on various product-related issues when shopping.

Bankrate.com, a U.S. consumer financial services company, recently conducted a survey of about 2,372 American adults. About 77% of American consumers said that they encountered product-related shopping problems when shopping in October. Problems include high prices, shipping delays, and inability to find products in specific colors.

Supply chain issues caused by the pandemic have made this year's holiday shopping season stressful for both buyers and sellers, raising a host of questions about goods.

55% of the respondents said that the prices of certain products would be higher than usual; 47% of consumers encountered out-of-stock problems; 35% of consumers encountered shipping delays for the products they purchased; 31% of consumers said that the variety of products decreased and the choices became fewer; 12% of consumers found that there were more quality problems in peak season shopping than usual. Finally, less than a quarter of consumers said that they did not encounter any product-related problems.

Regarding the product categories with the most feedback issues, food has the largest share, accounting for 66%, while clothing and electronic products have problems accounting for 37% and 24% respectively.

More than 27% of parents said they had trouble finding toys for their children. The reason is rising toy prices and fewer choices both online and offline. Many budget-conscious parents are unable to buy popular toys at a cheap price even during the discount season.

Despite the problems of price increases and product shortages, people are still eager to spend during the holidays. 57% of the respondents will buy gifts to reward themselves during the holidays. Among them, 54% of female consumers plan to buy gifts for themselves, while 60% of male consumers do so, slightly higher than female consumers.

In response to the above problems, 73% of consumers said that they are adjusting and changing their consumption habits to deal with these product problems.

37% of consumers will do holiday shopping in advance; 26% will choose to shop online; 21% will choose to buy from local small businesses. It is worth noting that some respondents will also choose to give second-hand or refurbished products as gifts, or handmade gifts or baked gifts.

83% of Gen Z consumers said they would change the way they shop for the holidays; 71% of Gen X and 68% of baby boomers also said they would change their shopping methods to address the problem.

Although problems such as product shortages caused by the supply chain are force majeure factors, they are difficult for sellers to avoid. What sellers can do is to find ways to reduce the impact of the problem on their stores.

Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman suggested that sellers and retailers could appropriately advance and extend holiday discounts to give consumers enough time to buy while also allowing enough shipping time.

For small and medium-sized enterprises and sellers, the volume of goods is relatively small, so the transportation methods are more flexible, and the types of goods they can obtain are relatively more than those of large enterprises. They can play to their own advantages, increase the variety of goods as much as possible, and attract more consumers.

In addition, during the busy season, the seller's after-sales service must keep up. When consumers encounter problems related to products, they hope to help them solve them as much as possible. This also plays an important role in establishing the store's image.

USA

Shopping season