Business | Aftershock

Two new shocks for American shopping

Big retailers must cope with shortages and with consumers’ stampede back to the aisles

Sep 21st 2021|New York

VISITORS TO A big supermarket in America these days could be forgiven for feeling disoriented. From one angle, all-American consumerism is on full display, with throngs struggling to steer overflowing trolleys. Retail sales (excluding cars) rose at a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.8% in August, compared with July, the fastest since March. Other images, though, look distinctly unAmerican. To their horror, some shoppers see empty shelves where their favourite brands of biscuits, detergents and loo roll typically sit—the result of supply-chain disruptions as outbreaks of the infectious Delta variant of covid-19 shut factories and ports around the world.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Two new shocks for shopping”