Retailers urge shoppers to buy early amid shipping crunch

Retailers urge shoppers to buy early amid shipping crunch

NEW YORK (AP) “” A number of retailers, including J.C. Penney, Lowe's and Kohl's, are telling shoppers they need to place their online orders soon or else pay expedited shipping fees if they want to get their packages delivered in time for the holidays. The earlier-than-usual deadlines come as more people turn to online shopping during the pandemic, creating a logjam for shipping companies as well as delivery delays. For some retailers, like H&M and Lego, the deadlines have passed. Jason Goldberg, chief commerce strategy officer at Publicis Communications, part of Publicis Groupe SA, estimates that a majority of retailers have pushed up deadlines by at least a day or two, and about a quarter by at least a week. Meanwhile, behemoths like Walmart, Target and Best Buy haven't had to make big changes because they've already transformed their stores into shipping hubs for online orders. That makes them less dependent on major carriers' national networks.ADVERTISEMENT"Everyone knows there is going to be a problem 10 days from now, but we just don't know how big it's going to be,“ said Rob Hahn, chief operating officer at Whitebox, a fulfillment service for retailers. "So everyone is being conservative, and everyone is