Delays in mail send shoppers back to stores
Extensivedelays at theu.s. Postal Service have pushed millions of Americans todotheonething they swore they wouldn’t this holiday season: shop inside stores.
On Thursday, parking lots filled across theu.s. with shoppers grabbing last-minute items after finally admitting to themselves that the in-transit orders they placed online days or weeks earlier might not make it in time for Christmas.
“Christmas comes whether the Postal Service does or not,” said Simeon Siegel, analyst at BMO Capital Markets. “At the end of the day, Santa has to deliver. If that means that the Postal Service or port stoppagesor any other supply bottlenecks are preventing items from getting to the tree, there’ll be a last-minute attemptto find something.”
The rush to the mall is good news for retailers, many of which are still trying to make up for the sales they lost when shuttered during lockdowns this year. In-person purchases carry higher margins than delivered items, plus shoppers are more likely to throw in “something extra” at the last second when gift-hunting in store, boosting basket sizes — and companies’ net sales.
Online surge
Americans have largely shunned in-person shopping this year to steer clear of potential virus exposure. Seasonal shopping started weeks earlier than usual, andmoreof the volumemovedonline, resulting in Black Friday visits dropping 52 percent when compared with a year ago, data from Sensormatic Solutions shows. It was also down sharply over Super Saturday weekend, traditionally the last shopping surge before Christmas.
But as the post office reports “unprecedented” volumes and large swaths of its workforce out because of COVID-19, those packages are piling up in delivery trucks and processing plants, rather than under the tree. With delivery statuses lingering “in transit” and only about 12 hours until Christmas, someu.s. shoppers decided they had to mask up and hit the stores after all.
In an email, the Postal Service reported “historic volume” and said its 644,000 employees “continue to work diligently to address issues and remain focused on delivering the holidays and beyond for the nation.”
The delays have opened a windowthat retailers are mobilizing to fill. Macy’s Inc. continued to offer curbside pickup Thursday, though same-day delivery ended the previous day. Target Corp., largely viewed as a pandemic year winner, was letting shoppers order as late as the Christmas Eve afternoon for curbside pickup or samedaydeliverywith Shipt. Target had seen “a surge in usage” of sameday services in the days leading up
to Christmas, the company said in an email.
“There’s surprisingly a lot of people heading out last minute,” Gabriella Santaniello, founder of retail research firm A-line Partners, said after visiting stores near Los Angeles in the final days leading up to Christmas. “Yesterday, I was at one mall and it was the busiest mall I’ve been to since pre-pandemic.”
That marks a big change from just a fewdays ago, whenthesuper Saturday crowds never materialized. Activity during Super Saturday and Black Friday weekends was so low that Sensormatic Solutions had to revise down its foot traffic forecast for the entire holiday season. That’s because as of last Saturday, shoppers still held onto hope their orders wouldmake it. Nolon
ger.
Line out the door
“Shipping delays have been an issue this year, which is resulting in consumers shifting from online to in-store to make their last-minute purchases,” the International Council of Shopping Centers said. Less than half of consumers had finished their holiday shopping heading into last weekend, it said.
Mackenzi Farquer, owner of Lockwood, a small chain of boutiques in New York City, was experiencing the boom firsthand. She said there was a “block-long line” outside her location in Astoria, Queens, when she arrived at work at10 a.m. Thursday The day before was the busiest her store has been since the pandemic began, and she’s had to turn away shoppers at
closing time.
“To me, as a retailer, it’s shocking,” she said. “We close at 6 p.m. tonight, and I suspect we’ll have to tell people that unfortunately, they can’t come in. Last night, we had to close even though there were folks still in line waiting to get in.”
Jonah Zimiles, who ownswords Bookstore in Maplewood, N.J., said that while business has dropped sharply during the pandemic, foot traffic picked up recently because of shipping delays, even beyond the expected lastminute shopping that is typical in any season.
“We’re getting creamed,” said Zimiles, who opened his independent shop in the New York City suburb almost 12 years ago, “but we’re getting creamed significantly less than we were a month ago.”