Murphy’s law states that if something can go wrong, it will. Murphy never informed us that everything would go wrong all at once. Even the biggest pessimist couldn’t have predicted the scale of the supply chain issues that plague us today, but that doesn’t change the reality. The supply chain didn’t just fracture a pinky finger — it broke every bone in its body, and retailers are now scrambling to prepare their inventories for the busy winter holiday season.
For consumers, that means the holidays are coming early. With supply chain issues extending all the way from sourcing and production to last-mile delivery, retailers face a host of issues that are limiting the stock and variety of their products to such a degree that experts are recommending shoppers make their holiday purchases months in advance. Consumers’ complaints of stores displaying Christmas decor before Thanksgiving or Halloween seem downright quaint today. It’s Christmas in September, and it may be what our short-term future looks like.