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Shoppers Used to Have Endless Options, Then Came Covid-19
- Stores scramble to manage inventory amid shocks to demand
- ‘Nobody was prepared for this,’ one retail consultant says
A clothing at a store in Long Beach, New York, on June 11.
Photographer: Johnny Milano/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
If you’re looking for a triple extra-large lime green blazer or some ultra-skinny bootcut jeans, you might want to act fast.
Thanks to a global pandemic on top of a trade war, American consumers are finding their once-endless array of apparel choices are quickly disappearing. There’s disruption everywhere -- from manufacturing and shipping delays to store closings and plummeting consumer demand -- and merchants are desperate to avoid accumulating piles of hard-to-sell items.