2021 Supplyframe Holiday Survey Provides a Glimpse into The Minds of Worried Shoppers

Visions of sugarplums are supposed to be filling our heads this time of year right? Instead it seems those of us in the supply chain are having nightmares. We’re seeing shoppers stressed they won’t find gifts, retailers worrying they won’t have gifts to sell, and manufacturers competing for scarce components and container space to get the gifts here on time.

All in all, it’s not looking like the happiest of holidays. Or is it? 

We’re in the business of market intelligence at Supplyframe, our DSI solutions  are designed to give manufacturers and distributors unparalleled visibility into the components that make up the things that make our lives. So, it’s vital for us to understand the market and where it’s headed next. 

We talked to 1,000 shoppers to understand how they’re changing their attitudes towards holiday purchasing in response to the aforementioned shortages and disruptions in the supply chain.

Ready, Set, Buy!

79% of us have started shopping early in hopes of getting what we need smoothly, and that’s only going so well, with 52% of respondents saying they were frustrated by delays, even though they knew why they were happening. 

More than half of Americans surveyed (55%) were planning on buying a computer, smartphone, or tablet as a gift despite the known supply issues in the electronics sector.

Now, Please

90% of respondents said that delivery time would be very or somewhat important when they make holiday purchase decisions, and 30% reported they’d go with a second choice (!) in order to get quicker shipping.

 With our previous research not showing electronics supply chain stability until 2023, and GPU manufacturer Nvidia’s CEO agreeing with the same timeline this week, everything points to increased pressure from consumers all the way up the global electronics value chain for the foreseeable future.

How To Make The Best of It

While these are surely unprecedented times, enterprising retailers and businesses can do things to improve their situations.

This excellent piece in Supply Management outlined five strategies for coping with increased demand and short supply this holiday season. While it’s retail specific, several of its suggestions are rather useful for those of us in electronics.

Break Down Silos: Always a good suggestion. Communication and visibility will be the key to thriving in 2022. This means knowing more than just what’s in stock with distributors. It’s having visibility into raw material and component availability and volatility as well. Our Commodity IQ solution gives you that kind of visibility in minutes with an always-on approach to market intelligence.

Tech That Empowers: Another idea we adore. Rather than technology that simply replaces humans, forward-thinking businesses will choose technology that empowers workers to do more. It’s never a bad call to invest in human experience and ingenuity.

Manage Unpredictability: Contingencies will be key in 2022. The advice in the Supply Management article is retailer specific, but absolutely applicable to electronics. Volatility isn’t going away anytime soon, so make 2022 the year you get the market intelligence that helps create agility in all facets of your business.

Next Steps

The tough times are here to say, at least temporarily. So that means we’ve got to do the best we can with the supply chain we’ve got. And the key to that is market intelligence.

Visibility into your sourcing options and which components have a volatile supply is the key to thriving in 2022 and beyond.