This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By viewing our content, you are accepting the use of cookies. To find out more and change your cookie settings, please view our Privacy Policy.
Price and item availability are among consumers’ biggest concerns this holiday, with inflation surging past 6% and supply chain bottlenecks leaving some shelves bare. To compensate, an increasing number of people are considering gifting used items, particularly those that have been refurbished by manufacturers.
Unlike other used options, refurbished items are often returned to the original manufacturer for testing and repair before being sold again, giving consumers more confidence that what they’re buying is legitimate. Many electronics brands and retailers, such as Apple, Best Buy and Newegg, offer refurbished merchandise, as does home furnishing retailer Ikea, which is facing a supply shortage that will likely last through the middle of next year.
Sustained inflation has compressed consumer spending across categories, resulting in softened sell-through rates and climbing aged inventory ratios. For retailers, brands, and manufacturers, the downstream effects are distinct, but the core problem is the same: the excess inventory is there,…
This well-known athletic retailer had large volumes of aged overstock held at various distribution centers (DCs) around the country. A small group of jobbers purchased the inventory on informal terms, managed by each DC, leading to inconsistent processes and outcomes…