B-to-C

Supply Chain Challenges Won’t Ruin the Holidays—but They Will Change the Retail Industry

It’s a bit of a Schrödinger's cat situation

Messy pile of boxes — Retailers will ultimately have to adjust how they source and distribute goods.Getty Images

November 15, 2021

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The National Retail Federation (NRF) projects holiday sales in the U.S. will increase 8.5% to 10.5% to as much as $859 billion in 2021 despite persistent supply chain bottlenecks. That’s in part because retailers like Walmart, Target and Lowe’s began stocking up “months ahead of schedule” to ensure they have sufficient inventory, per an NRF update on port congestion.