WRAL Investigates puts holiday shipping to the test
With just 10 days until Christmas, many are hoping all those online orders will arrive on time.
This year, there are new pressures on the supply chain, on top of the National Retail Federation predicting 2021 will have the highest holiday retail sales on record.
So, WRAL Investigates ordered gifts to find out how long it really takes to complete holiday shipping this season.
"People are just going to have to be patient," said Rob Handfield, a supply chain professor at North Carolina State University.
Stuck ships, trucker shortages and unprecedented demand are contributing to the shipping delays. The omicron variant could also threaten the already struggling supply chain. Outbreaks from the delta variant caused issues earlier this year, including factory shutdowns.
"We anticipate, across the nation, handling 12 billion cards, letters and packages," said United States Postal Service Postmaster Diane Leveque.
So with a Christmas list and a credit card, WRAL Investigates went shopping online for 10 popular items.
The first item, Magic Mixies, which involves a stuffed toy and an interactive cauldron, was sold out everywhere, including Walmart, Amazon and Target's websites.
On Kohl's website, multiple colors of a Champion sweatshirt were out of stock. Other popular items with limited or no stock included Pokemon cards and a pair of kid's Crocs.
WRAL Investigates found that flexibility was the name of the game for purchasing gifts online.
On Dec. 2, WRAL Investigates completed all purchases with plenty of time for them to arrive for Christmas.
Luckily, most of items arrived in less than a week. But, LOL! Dolls from Walmart got delayed and arrived two days late.
“There’s bottlenecks in the distribution centers," said Handfield.
Handfield said a worker shortage could also lead to lingering supply chain issues in 2022.
“There’s always some bottlenecks, but what we are seeing now, these are pervasive and they are going to last a long time," he explained.
Holiday hurdles have holiday helpers working overtime to deliver.
"We are here; we are ready; and we are rolling," said LeVeque.
In total, WRAL Investigates was able to find 9 of the 10 gifts on the original shopping list. The last gift - a pillow pet - arrived 14 days beyond the scheduled delivery date.
Wednesday, Dec. 15, is the last day for guaranteed delivery by Christmas for ground shipping for people using USPS or Fedex. So, small businesses might be a better bet for anyone looking to make last-minute purchases.
First class mail through USPS must be on its way by Friday and priority mail on Saturday for guaranteed Christmas Day delivery.
All of the toys purchased by WRAL Investigates will be donated to the Salvation Army.
