Here’s why Columbus business owners are advising people to do holiday shopping early
Columbus business owners, experts and public officials are advising consumers to prepare for higher prices and shipping delays due to problems with the global supply chain.
The disruption can be traced to the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnny Ho, professor of operations management at Columbus State University, said. During the first half of 2020, demand dropped significantly, and then gradually recovered because of the federal stimulus.
This year, Ho said, demand has surged, causing supply chain problems. Tariffs the United States imposed on China, labor shortages and Brexit have all impacted the global supply chain as well, according to Ho.
In Columbus, business owners are stressing to customers that it is important to shop early for Christmas if they can. Ethan Salyer owns a luxury resale store in The Landings that offers authentic designer brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci. While he has a local clientele, the largest part of his customer base comes from online orders, Salyer said.
Although the store focuses on resale and isn’t affiliated with specific brands, it has been affected by the supply chain problems. Shortages of new designer products have resulted in more consumers purchasing resale bags and other items, Salyer said, which is causing businesses like his to have a shortage as well.
These circumstances prompted the business to advise its social media followers to order items early for Christmas if they can.
“If you see something, and you know that’s on your Christmas list or somebody’s Christmas list,” Ethan Salyer, owner of Ethan Salyer Luxuries, said, “then you need to go ahead and grab it when you see it, because you might miss it.”
Delays in manufacturing
“It’s bad,” Steve Smith, owner of Columbus’ Archer Connection and HobbyTown, said. “Because even the manufacturers in the U.S., there are still components that they get produced to finish their products that are coming from overseas.”
Additionally, Smith has seen issues with trying to get replacement parts for customers.
The problems with the supply chain are affecting both Archer Connection and HobbyTown, Smith said, adding that since items are typically ordered a year in advance, the stores have been working to stay ahead of the disruption the pandemic has caused.
Frances Malone, owner of the Two Sisters Gallery in the MidTown area of Columbus, is also reporting that her distributors are low on the raw materials needed for her framing business.
“The whole picture framing industry is under the gun,” Malone said. “It’s hard to say why, but it’s basically the shipping stuff and also you can’t control the virus situation on the other end where it’s being manufactured.”
Every year people want Christmas framing done at the last minute, but this year isn’t the year to do that, she said. If a customer has an idea of what they want to get framed, they should bring it in when they can, Malone said.
“Most of the vendors can give us an approximate date when they will get it in stock,” she said. “[But] some won’t even make a guess.”
She placed an order for a customer two weeks ago that won’t come in until December, Malone said. Additionally, she recently pulled three moldings off her wall that are out of stock with no estimated date of when they’ll be available again.
Despite the problems with the supply chain, people shouldn’t rush in to buy all at once, she said. However, if they know what they want framed, they shouldn’t leave it until after Thanksgiving, she explained.
Expect higher prices
The disruption of the global supply chain has caused prices to increase. The consumer price index, which measures how much the prices of consumer goods and services change over time, rose 5.4% over the last year. This impact of this increased inflation can be shown by the announcement that Social Security benefits will increase by 5.9% next year with its annual cost of living adjustment, the highest increase in 39 years.
The higher prices that have been made worse by the pandemic has been affecting people in Columbus for the past four to six months, Columbus Mayor Skip Henderson said.
“Back in the summer or spring, if you went to go buy some hamburger meat or a couple of steaks, you’re going to pay more,” he said. “Goods at the grocery stores had already started reacting in an inflationary way.”
HobbyTown began seeing increased prices about six months ago, Smith said, and Archery Connection began having increased prices around three months ago. A manufacturer may sell a product to a business and initially absorb the price increase to stay marketable, he said.
And then once a manufacturer sees the price isn’t going to decrease on the raw goods cost, then the manufacturer will increase the price, which then forces retailers to increase prices, Smith said. It’s eventually the end user who gets the hit.
“But it won’t work any other way,” Smith said. “The margins are so close on all these types of businesses nowadays that you can’t afford to discount your stuff any lower because you’re fighting internet sales and box stores.”
The cost of luxury bags have also been increasing for his business, Salyer said. The shop used to be able to sell a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag for around a thousand dollars, he said, but now the price has risen to $1,450.
“We are selling them [at a higher price] right now not because we are just gouging people,” Salyer said, “But because genuinely our price has gone up above what we used to sell them for.”
Local business owners say it is important for people to be patient and understanding during the holiday shopping season. Additionally, they urge Columbus residents to support locally owned businesses.
Drive down the street in Columbus, Smith said, and look at all the small, family-run businesses in the town.
“Look at all those families — not even their owners — but the employees that work there,” he said. “Their paycheck is derived from us, as consumers, spending our money with those small businesses.”
