--- title: Your Holiday Gift Orders Might Not Ship in Time, but That Could Mean Steep Discounts description: A supply chain crisis is causing shopping shortages. But there's a silver lining ... authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Shopping - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true published: '2021-11-12T19:52:09.000Z' modified: '2024-02-18T13:19:28.000Z' section: Shopping tags: - 2021 holidays - Black Friday - holiday shopping - Shopping word_count: 434 canonical: https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** Money may earn a commission when you click on the products and services below. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how they appear. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/) about how we make money. ![Laptop With Christmas Sale On Screen](https://img.money.com/2021/11/News-Your-Holiday-Gift-Orders-Might-Not-Arrive-In-Time-But-That-Could-Mean-Steep-Discounts.jpg) Ahead of the holiday season, a global supply chain crisis is pushing prices higher and causing [shortages](https://money.com/holiday-shortages-toys-turkey-wine/) of everything from wine to iPhones. Cargo ships are stuck at crowded ports—unable to unload because of bottlenecks at the dock—and a lack of truck drivers means companies are struggling to move goods across the country once they do make it off of ships. To top it all off, a retail worker shortage has made hiring seasonal employees a near-impossible task. For consumers, there may be a silver lining in the form of big sales — if they’re willing to wait. In a note to clients reported by [MarketWatch](https://www.marketwatch.com/story/supply-chain-delays-now-could-lead-to-discounts-for-shoppers-down-the-line-analysts-say-11636398726?rss=1&siteid=rss) this week, a group of analysts at BMO Capital Markets posits that shipping delays today could lead to big promotions and clearance sales down the line as retailers scramble to sell out-of-season merchandise. “It is simply a matter of time before late product hits the floors and begins to drive up promotions,” the analysts wrote. Underlying the supply chain crunch is a huge surge in consumer demand, and Americans are planning on spending more money than ever this year. The National Retail Federation is [forecasting](https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-highest-holiday-retail-sales-record) that holiday spending in 2021 will grow between 8.5% and 10.5% compared to last year, as consumers return to traveling and in-person shopping with extra cash in their pockets thanks to stimulus checks and [bolstered savings accounts](https://money.com/american-spending-outlook-survey-2021/)**.** But that’s not to say online shopping is slowing down: The NRF expects spending in that category to grow between 11% and 15% over spending in 2020. “Retailers have enough inventory on hand to make sure shoppers won’t go home empty-handed this holiday season,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said in a statement earlier this week. “But there are still items sitting on the docks or waiting on ships that need to make it to store shelves and online sellers’ warehouses.” As expected, retailers like Amazon, Target and Wayfair are pushing Black Friday promotions hard, though, as Money has reported on previously, these early deals are shaping up to be [pretty mediocre](https://money.com/holiday-deals-discounts-sold-out/). In early November, electronics were discounted an average of 8.7% over the previous month, according to data from Adobe Digital Insights, compared to discounts averaging 13.2% over the same period in 2020. If you’re willing to wait until after the holidays, the best shopping may be yet to come. [Is Black Friday Still Worth It?](https://money.com/is-black-friday-worth-it/) [Holiday Shoppers Are Hunting for Gifts Early This Year — and It's Not Going Well](https://money.com/holiday-deals-discounts-sold-out/) [How Badly Do Companies Need Workers? You Can Get Hired Within 30 Minutes of Applying](https://money.com/seasonal-jobs-no-interview/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Holiday Shopping", "item": "https://money.com/holiday-shopping/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Your Holiday Gift Orders Might Not Ship in Time, but That Could Mean Steep Discounts" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/", "name": "Your Holiday Gift Orders Might Not Ship in Time, but That Could Mean Steep Discounts", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2021-11-12T19:52:09.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/late-holiday-shopping-discounts/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-02-18T13:19:28.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Your Holiday Gift Orders Might Not Ship in Time, but That Could Mean Steep Discounts", "articleSection": "Shopping", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2021/11/News-Your-Holiday-Gift-Orders-Might-Not-Arrive-In-Time-But-That-Could-Mean-Steep-Discounts.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Your-Holiday-Gift-Orders-Might-Not-Arrive-In-Time-But-That-Could-Mean-Steep-Discounts" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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