How understaffed are stores? Smaller retailers feel the holiday-shopping strain
Large retailers have spent billions of dollars to woo workers. Smaller stores that can't do that expect staff shortages will lead to lost sales. They're asking shoppers to be patient.
Holiday shopping season is always high-stakes for Saxon Shoes in Virginia — a time when people shop for several pairs at once and splurge on pricy winter boots.
This year came with extra worries: Would shoppers return after a pandemic freeze? Would Saxon's shoes get snared in the supply chain mess? And then, the question that turned out to be key: Would there be enough workers?
"We probably
