Good morning, tea sippers! I know this may be hard to believe, but here at the tea shop we are already getting geared up for the upcoming holiday season! We are ordering products and making sure that we are ready to fulfill all of your orders. That being said, I'm sure you have been hearing in the news to be prepared for upcoming shipping delays in the next couple months. Don't worry, we have heard this too and that's why I'm reaching out today!
When doing research on why there will be these upcoming shipping delays, I came across many interesting reasons. First and foremost, the United States is experiencing a record breaking year of imports. In 2020, the National Retail Federation reported the highest import rate experienced since its formation in 2002 when 22 million containers were brought into US ports. In 2021, imports are projected to smash this record at a whopping rate of almost 26 million containers. This is putting stress upon ports, acceptance facilities, warehouse, distribution centers. These facilities are already congested and their employees are overworked. This, combined with the unemployment rate skyrocketing during the present pandemic, has caused unprecedented delays in shipping of goods. Speaking of the unemployment rate, one of the highest industries affected by a decreased workforce has been truck drivers. The lack of truck drivers has only compounded the delays, thus, even when the imports are accepted and come onshore, the products are further delayed moving inland when trucks aren't available to pick the products up.
This increase can be attributed to the pandemic as well. Consumers shifted from spending money out in the general public at grocery stores, restaurants, malls, etc to instead purchasing goods online and having them shipped directly to their homes. This, too, created an overwhelming influx on the shipment centers mentioned above and has caused these abnormal and unfortunate delays. For us at Good Life Tea, you know many of our products originate in Asia, so this has put us in a pickle a few times throughout the year. We continually find ourselves asking "What can we do so that our headaches don't cause a ripple effect and affect our lovely customers?".
We have come to a conclusion. Due to the anticipated delays that we know about, we are encouraging you to place your holiday orders as soon as possible. We want to make sure that any teas that you want to enjoy during this holiday season, or any gifts you may need order all arrive at your doorstep in time. With the foreseen delays, by ordering early, you are helping us to fulfill this goal. Ordering early combats the unfortunate scenario that we are faced with, and also helps us to ensure that we have adequate stock available going forward. As you are, like us, preparing for the upcoming holiday season please take this information into consideration and order early! We would so appreciate this! Thank you so much for bearing with us and enduring what seems to be like the unending stream of curveballs we are being thrown. Have a wonderful weekend and happy sipping! - Kaytea :)
P.S. If you haven't tried our three newest teas yet, we highly recommend you do so as they have become extraordinarily popular! Take a gander at our new Joyful Release, our Lychee Rose, and our Amethyst Berry now!