• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises

1

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

2

Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics

3

The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
RetailHolidays

Here’s how inflation and a supply chain crunch are already affecting the holidays

By
Max Ufberg
Max Ufberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Max Ufberg
Max Ufberg
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 18, 2021, 11:22 AM ET

A surge in COVID cases, coupled with the new Omicron variant has cast a shadow over the holiday season in the U.S. But even before that, the economics behind the festivities was far from normal. 

Consumer prices in November jumped 6.8% over the previous year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index—the largest spike in nearly four decades. The main culprits: inflation and a lingering supply chain crunch. 

Here’s how that economic instability could affect the rest of your year.

So what’s more expensive?

The 12 days of Christmas, for one.

Or at least the gifts are. If you try to buy all the presents mentioned in the famous holiday song, you would have to fork over $41,205.58—a 5.7% increase from 2019, according to PNC’s annual Christmas Price Index.

But beyond that, many items that people buy regularly have increased in price. Men’s outerwear, for example, is up 14.1%, and TVs cost 7.9% more than last year. For anyone driving for the holidays, gas prices could be tough to stomach. The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.30, according to the American Automobile Association, compared to $2.21 last year.

Holiday meals are more expensive, too: Beef and ham jumped 20.9% and 11.1% respectively, according to the CPI. Even gift wrapping paper costs 7.3% more than it did last year. 

“A lot of the prices that people see every day are the ones that have gone up the most,” Gus Faucher, chief economist at PNC, told Fortune. “You go to the grocery store every week, you fill up your car twice a week. You’re more attuned to those prices.” 

Some big ticket items have seen the biggest price increases.  

The price of new cars and trucks is 11.1% higher than it was this time last year, and used cars have seen a whopping 31% price increase, according to the CPI. Jewelry is also up 6.7%. 

Spending is still going strong

Higher prices haven’t slowed down consumers. 

In fact, spurred by concerns about the broken supply chain, people are likely to buy more than they did last year, in part because they started buying presents earlier. Though the Commerce Department said U.S. retail sales were less than expected in November, that’s in large part because Americans kicked off the shopping season the month prior. Retail sales in October were up 16.3% year-over-year, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Americans overall had more savings this year than they did pre-pandemic, due to wage increases, government stimulus programs, although that nest egg is now shrinking.

“At least until this point, people had tons of money saved up, and from a psychological perspective, they were feeling deprived that they hadn’t purchased stuff [earlier in the pandemic],” Monga said.

But inflation means that people are paying more for the same items (including necessities like food and gas) that they were buying before. Compounding the matter, some people continue to overbuy items for their household out of fear there will be a shortage, and that can raise prices. 

“We are in a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Ashwani Monga, a marketing professor at Rutgers University, told Fortune. “People think there are shortages, so they go and they buy more, and there is low supply for others, and prices go up.” 

Supply chain problems are real, but hope could be on the horizon

There’s no one explanation for the supply chain crisis. The COVID pandemic caused manufacturers to put a stop on production in 2020 as the world essentially crawled to a halt. Nearly two years later, companies are still struggling to contain the virus and to recover after their global processes were thrown into disarray. 

Those problems have been exacerbated by a manufacturing worker shortage that’s part of the so-called “Great Resignation.”

“The supply chain doesn’t have any resilience, and when COVID came along, it created uncertainty at all levels,” Chip White, a transportation and logistics professor at Georgia Tech, told Fortune.

On the bright side, the U.S. is still far ahead of where it was last year, when lots of people were still staying in their homes and relying solely on overburdened FedEx and UPS networks.

“Last year, there was a big concern whether anything would actually get to the house in time. There was such an overload on the delivery services,” said Jeffrey Schott, a senior fellow with the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a centrist think tank. “We don’t seem to have any of those stories this year. The logistical network has begun to adjust.”

Check out Fortune’s Brainstorm Design Conference, taking place May 23-24 in Brooklyn, N.Y. For more details and to apply to attend, click here.

About the Author
By Max Ufberg
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Retail

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Retail

target
Retailearnings
Target posts biggest jump in comparable sales in 4 years as turnaround takes shape
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressMay 20, 2026
6 hours ago
Variational co-founders Edward Yu and Lucas Schuermann pose for a picture
CryptoCryptocurrency
Variational raises $50 million Series A to bring liquidity from traditional markets to blockchain rails
By Jack KubinecMay 20, 2026
9 hours ago
A Pizza Hut workers prepares an order for delivery.
LawFood and drink
Pizza Hut franchisee claims $100 million losses from ‘cascading operational breakdowns’ in AI adoption gone wrong
By Sasha RogelbergMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Photo of Donald Trump (left) with Mark Cuban
PoliticsDonald Trump
Trump and Mark Cuban end war of words to tag-team America’s drug pricing crisis: ‘Democrats want cheaper medications, too’
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
Big TechLawsuit
‘This is what the consumer wants’: A new lawsuit about PFAS and other ‘forever chemicals’ is heating up the cookware industry
By Catherina GioinoMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
andic
LawBillionaires
Spanish police arrest son of retail billionaire who fell off a cliff and died. He was the only witness
By The Associated PressMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

Most Popular

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
Future of Work
Meet a 21-year-old community college student who's going to China as the first American woman welder in the trades Olympics
By Mike Householder and The Associated PressMay 17, 2026
3 days ago
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
Politics
The Bezos family just donated $100 million to help achieve one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s top campaign promises
By Jake AngeloMay 12, 2026
8 days ago
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
Travel & Leisure
Spirit Airlines apologizes to all the Americans who can't afford any summer vacation flights as it shuts down
By Rio Yamat and The Associated PressMay 18, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday,  May 19, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, May 19, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 19, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.