Avoiding Stockouts and Delays During the Holiday Shopping Season
You’ve probably already started to notice that your online purchases take longer to ship. Well, buckle up because we’re only halfway to November and if you’re someone who has to or somehow enjoys holiday shopping and prefers to do it online, things can get bumpy.
Between regular delivery delays and one supply chain disruption after another, you better get creative when it comes to this year’s gifts. In an article for Consumer Reports, Penelope Van and Octavio Blanco provide some tips on how to do this. Here’s what they offer.
Find local merchants
Small business Saturday (also known as the day after Black Friday) is great, but why limit yourself to one day of supporting your local small business? On-site shopping has all sorts of benefits, but this year it also has an edge over online shopping: if you see something you like (and have it in stock), you can exit the store with it (after you pay) that very day.
Give knowledge
We were all going to attend the wide variety of free online classes that were offered at the start of the pandemic. But chances are that a lot of people looked at one or two courses, found out how much they cost, and put the idea aside. Van and Blanco suggest that if someone in your life falls into this category, your holiday gift could pay for whatever art history course they’ve wanted to enroll in for months.
Consider membership or subscription
While most people probably have some type of streaming subscription (like Netflix), there are others that they probably want but can’t justify the extra cost (like Disney +). If so, you have found out their gift. But don’t be limited to video streaming services: Van and Blanco also recommend signing up for music like Spotify or signing up for your favorite web or print publications.
Membership in cultural institutions such as museums, historical societies or symphonies is also possible, as is a ticket to national or state parks, Wang and Blanco said.