This time of year is a period of anticipation for holiday shoppers that fill stores and participate in the economic boost that comes with the season. However, with supply chain delays being felt throughout the nation, this year will be different. The repercussions are being felt by Arizona business owners, who are now tasked with navigating their livelihood through yet another period of uncertainty.
Deedee Samos is the owner of the children’s clothing company “Inky, Binky, Bonky.” Rather than housing her business at a physical store, she operates online and has a presence at various local art festivals throughout the year.
Samos has appeared at art festivals in areas such as Fountain Hills, Tempe, and downtown Phoenix.
According to Samos, she does not have a favorite show to attend but her occasional presence in downtown Phoenix in the past has been one that she particularly enjoys.
“I came here from California because I had friends that said Arizona was a great place for this kind of stuff,” Samos said. “Downtown Phoenix has a community of artists and an energy that I have grown to enjoy.”
Samos hand paints the clothing with various designs and has a dyer who assists her with coloring certain items in her inventory.
“I’ve had trouble being able to get my best-selling item from my vendors,” Samos said. “I’ve resorted to bulk ordering ahead of time because I’d much rather be overstocked than completely out of something.”
According to Samos, her business works with vendors in California and New York, causing nationwide shipping issues to carry the potential of impacting her operation.
“I have a ton of backstock on all my items,” Samos said. “I am certainly noticing the delays, especially when it comes to the people I work with outside of the state. But it is not impacting me as much as it might be for others.”
The supply chain issues have caused the federal government to go into defense mode.
“As long as the pandemic continues, there will be disruptions,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview with Yahoo Finance.
According to Buttigieg, President Biden’s new $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill will allow for long-term improvements throughout the United States supply chain.
“In the long term we will have better ports, better rails and better roads so the core infrastructure — all of those private sector processes — is more resilient for whatever challenge in the future could come,” Buttigieg said.
According to Samos, a lot of her clientele are eager to get back to shopping after many of them refrained from doing so last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What Samos is seeing here in Arizona is reflective of the country.
A recent national survey done by international consulting firm KPMG showed that 67% of Americans say their income has returned to or is now exceeding pre-pandemic rates, leading shoppers to head into the holiday season with more confidence and certainty when making the choice to spend their money.
According to the survey, one in three people in the U.S. intended on Black Friday shopping in person, which is double when compared to last year.
The survey also found that one in six people began their Holiday shopping early due to supply chain issues.
Despite everything, Samos is happy to see things moving again. “At my shows, people come through my booth and are just excited to be out and doing things,” she added. “I am just as happy to see them.”
Contact the reporter deogas@asu.edu.
