Shoppers are worn out as supply chains have disrupted everything — including buying expectations and behaviors.
The big picture: They largely understand that getting things like cars and appliances takes more time. But they have zero tolerance for delays of smaller purchases, according to retail experts.
Shoppers are worn out as supply chains have disrupted everything — including buying expectations and behaviors.
The big picture: They largely understand that getting things like cars and appliances takes more time. But they have zero tolerance for delays of smaller purchases, according to retail experts.
State of play: It’s been impossible to ignore or avoid global manufacturing and logistics problems, so consumers adjust their expectations on larger purchases that clearly depend on the supply chain.
- But for smaller purchases like cat food or personal goods, it’s a different story because they’ve grown accustomed to quick delivery, Iliana Filyanova, a partner at McKinsey, told Axios.
- “They’re still going to go to Amazon and expect a next-day delivery, or else they’re going to switch [sites] or go to the store.”
Between the lines: People are having to work harder to get what they need, whether it’s shopping earlier, waiting, stocking up, or looking for alternatives.
- As a result, they’ve raised their expectations for businesses to deliver on their end of the bargain — whether it’s communicating updates or fixing supply chain issues, according to Katherine Cullen, a senior director at the National Retail Federation.
- A three-week delay that turns into six, or a product listed as available that becomes unavailable, are frustration points — and consumers don’t want to keep hearing that it’s the supply chain and nothing can be done.
- “We’re a year into this. That [blanket] excuse doesn’t work anymore,” said Andrew Hogenson, global lead of consumer goods, retail and logistics at Infosys Consulting.
Threat level: Consumer loyalty is on the line.
- More than 70% of shoppers either switched brands or switched stores when the products they wanted became unavailable, according to a McKinsey study last fall of 2,095 people in the U.S.
What to watch: There’s still a heightened level of demand for physical goods compared to services and experiences, and Filyanova says she doesn’t expect that demand to lessen for another few years.
- Meanwhile, disruptions are increasing in frequency and severity because supply chains aren’t resilient enough, according to McKinsey research.
The bottom line: Fair or not, supply chain fatigue has set in for consumers over the last year, and retailers no longer have that to fall back on, says Hogenson.
