Disappearing Discounts

Shopping deals are harder to find this season

Discounts, whether big or small, help millions of customers each year to save money. These speciality discounts are supplied by the store or the company that makes or sells the product. As the holiday season approaches, many stores around the U.S. use these discounts as a way to get more customers to their stores for the holidays.

“I love shopping at Bath and Body Works because they always offer great deals on items that I would normally pay full price for,” sophomore Gabbrielle Savant said. “If I would have to buy these products at full price, I would probably have to find a cheaper alternative.”

Due to the supply chain shortage, The Wall Street Journal expects shoppers to pay close to full price on items that would normally be marked down, according to pymnts.com. Many stores that are found in malls like Victoria’s Secret or Macy’s are expecting an markup in prices, meaning everyday products that you would normally buy at a regular cost could cost double or even triple what you normally pay, according to cnn.com.

“The mall is a great place to shop because there is a variety of stores to choose from, but if they upcharge products, I would still shop there because the stuff is still pretty cheap,” freshman Bella Winkelman said.

Although companies are working to try and get their products to stores, it is extremely expensive to ship and to offset those costs they are upcharging, according to cnn.com. Retail stores are not the only companies experiencing these effects; it is also the huge corporations such as Walmart and Costco. Their out of stock messages are up 172% since January 2020, according to pymnts.com.

“I shop [online] at stores such as American Eagle and H&M, but I would still shop [in the store] because they have cute stuff,” sophomore Deeksha Kanagaraj said.

The supply chain is mainly affecting products that are being delivered by cargo ship. So, many businesses are now relying on air and land transportation to get these products to their destinations on time before the holiday season, according to pymnts.com.