For months retail industry watchers have been urging consumers to start holiday gift shopping early this year. The reason? The global supply-chain shortage is affecting the production of everything from computer chips to cars. Of course, no product is experiencing the same rate of scarcity, and now thanks to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index (DEI), we know which types of products are likely to be the hardest to come by this holiday season.
Adobe’s DEI tracked over a trillion visits to retail websites in the U.S., along with 100 million SKUs, and found that in October 2021, customers saw over 2 billion out-of-stock messages alone, suggesting supply-chain disruption. The categories with the most out-of-stock message include (in order):
- electronics
- jewelry
- apparel
- home and garden
- pet products
This shortage is not helped by, ironically, a surge in shopping demand. Adobe’s report found that consumers spent 8% more in October 2021 than in October the year before. But due to the shortages, Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights, notes, “some have begun to adjust their holiday strategy accordingly, with parents shopping for toys earlier and some settling for gift cards this season. For those who have not yet started their holiday shopping, they will need to be prepared to be flexible.”
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