Welcome to The Backroom, a window into what goes on behind the scenes as the Retail Dive team covers the stories and trends reshaping retail. You can check out all our podcast episodes (past and present) here and listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio and Spotify.
Don't expect "normal" this holiday season.
Thanks to the astonishingly quick development and rollout of vaccines, COVID-19 cases this fall are well below last year's levels. But the pandemic is still with us and affecting shopping habits. At the same time, 2021 has brought new kinds of disruption. The combination of supply chain constraints and a surge in consumer demand this year has created snarls all throughout the system.
While many, if not most, major retailers are reporting sufficient inventory, stocks are widely below what they otherwise might be. That is having a complicated impact on pricing, discounting and shopping patterns throughout the industry.
On this episode of The Backroom, Retail Dive senior reporters Daphne Howland and Ben Unglesbee dig into how supply chain challenges are playing out, and how both consumers and retailers are adapting to yet another holiday season unlike any before it.
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Editor's note: This show was produced and edited by Caroline Jansen.
via https://www.aiupnow.com
Retail Dive Staff, Khareem Sudlow
