Your local GIFTING guide How to holiday shop at the last minute BY COURTNEY JESPERSEN
NerdWallet
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upply chain snags. Soldout merchandise. Empty shelves. Hefty shipping fees. Inflation. There are plenty of complications working against you this holiday shopping season. And despite warnings to shop early because of pandemic-related delays, some of us didn’t prioritize holiday shopping in October and November. But all hope isn’t lost. Here’s what to do if you still have gifts left to purchase this month.
WATCH FOR RESTOCKS
Keep checking back with retailers — both online and in stores — over the next few weeks, and you could be pleasantly surprised. “Typically, retailers get multiple deliveries in throughout a holiday season, so even if something is sold out earlier in the season, there’s always a chance that it could come back in stock in December,” says Katherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer insights for the National Retail Federation. And remember all of those deliveries that were supposed to arrive weeks ago? Well, they may finally make their way onto U.S. soil — and onto store shelves in the weeks ahead. “With some of these delays that are impacting retailers at ports, we need to consider those holiday shipments they’ve scheduled for November. Maybe they’ll be coming in December,” Cullen says. Besides physically visiting stores or manually checking websites for product availability, you can also let technology do the work for you. On many retail sites, you can enter your email address and sign up to be notified when a particular item comes back in stock .
NAM Y. HUH, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A consumer shops at a retail store in Mount Prospect, Ill., on Dec. 3. It’s December, and we’re weeks away from Christmas. But the 2021 holiday shopping season may feel anything but festive. In the final stretch of holiday shopping, you could face out-of-stock products, shipping delays, empty shelves and expensive delivery fees. However, even if you still have the majority of your shopping left to do, you have options.
checkout process. If you don’t want to cut it too close, you could always shop in person at a local small business instead. And if something you ordered doesn’t arrive when expected, consider taking a — Katherine Cullen, senior director of industry and consumer picture of the gift and giving insights for the National Retail Federation that as a place holder for the forthcoming physical holiday shipping deadlines. product. media accounts, or calling Dec. 15 is the cutoff for reyour local store. Cullen says retailers typ- tail ground shipping in the BUY A GIFT CARD contiguous U.S. for delivery ically advertise order-by While gift cards aren’t the deadlines on their websites. before Christmas. You can most personal gift, they may expect major retailers to ad- be the most practical gift of These are the last days to CHECK DELIVERY vertise a similar date. order if you want your on2021. DEADLINES Sometimes, specific line purchases to come by “If there’s any year to give products are backordered Christmas. If you pass the a gift card, this is it,” says Once you find something or have shipping estimates deadline, you may have Darrin Duber-Smith , seyou want to buy, make sure that differ from the overall nior lecturer of marketing at you’ll get it in time for holi- to pay extra for expedited Metropolitan State Univerday gatherings. If you’re un- shipping. Or, you could miss website. Always pay attention to notes about the sity of Denver. sure if something will arrive Christmas delivery altoproduct as well as the estigether. Gift cards allow for digital when you need it, Cullen mated delivery date when The U.S. Postal Service delivery, which can cirrecommends checking a you’re navigating the online cumvent shipping logistics retailer’s website and social has already announced its
“Typically, retailers get multiple deliveries in throughout a holiday season, so even if something is sold out earlier in the season, there’s always a chance that it could come back in stock in December.”
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completely. And there’s little to no risk of a gift card being out of stock. But while gift cards and certificates will be less of a headache for the gift giver, they could present limitations for the recipient — particularly if empty shelves persist into January. Those you give gift cards to might have to hang onto them for a while before cashing them in. “Consumers are going to have to be patient in terms of redeeming their gift cards,” Duber-Smith says.
WAIT UNTIL THE VERY LAST MINUTE
presents — and at a discount. Super Saturday is the nickname for the last Saturday before Christmas. This year, that’s Dec. 18. Cullen expects stores to host sales on this major shopping day, just as they do every other year. Last year, department stores, makeup brands, shoe stores and more offered discounts as high as 70% off. If you go this route, be aware that you’ll likely need to go to the store or order online for store pickup. And inventory may be low, reducing your choices.
This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdIf you’re not the type of Wallet. Courtney Jespersen is person who gets stressed out by waiting until the very, a writer at NerdWallet. Email: very, very last minute, there’s courtney@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @courtneynerd. one more path to securing
y a d i l HSoA L E $5 off a $30 purchase expires 2/13/22
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