US Economic recovery is getting stalled as many citizens are avoiding spending time at retail outlets due to shortage of products and delta variant spreading.
According to an economists survey by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. retail sales were about to fell down again in August, for the consecutive second month. The report shows how the big parts of retail sales like restaurant meals, cars, cell phones, and computers have narrowed down which is considered to be the largest source of economic demand in the U.S.
Industries dependent upon human contact like restaurants are suffering a lot as people are avoiding spending out much time outside for delta variant infection and official mandate for wearing masks even indoors.
Bill Jensen, a co-owner of Reveler’s Hour, a pasta-and-wine bar in Washington, D.C. said, “It was just this really cruel moment for us, where there was this industrywide hope and public perception that restrictions were lifting and life was resuming normal,”
Periodical closes, short time openings and August mandate for masks have dashed the sector to recover to the stage of before pandemic era.
The ongoing shipping problems, rise in shipment costs, and new protocols with global supply chain movements have created shortages in supply. In the case of the online market, the delivery process has been stalled due to the same problems.
As a whole, the sellers are facing problems meeting customers’ demands. The auto industry is also suffering from a global shortage of microchips.
Bottom Line: The recovery process of the US economy is affected by the fall of retail sales for consecutive two months in August as supply is shortened to meet the demand and uprising Delta variant infections of COVID-19.
