Beat the Driver Shortage - Purchase Your Presents Before it's Too Late!

It's that time of year again where we start thinking about Christmas presents. It can be a stressful time, but don't worry - there is still plenty of time to get what you need in the next few weeks!

The only thing that has changed things this year is the driver shortage.

With more and more people buying their Christmas presents early, the demand for RiiRoo ride-on toys has increased exponentially.

So if you were sitting on the fence hoping this will smooth over. It might just be that one risk too far.

What is the Driver Shortage?

Ever since the UK left the European Union, it meant many migrant workers returned back to their own countries. This has led to a lack of drivers in the UK. Not just for us, but for many different industries and retailers.

Also, since the beginning of Covid, it meant that potential new Heavy Good Vehicle (HGV) drivers were not able to be trained to drive since we were in the middle of a lockdown and they were not able to open the HGV test centres.

Couple these two incidents together and it has caused a perfect storm for retailers.

Not only are they struggling to collect new stock from UK ports. But, they are also quickly selling out of the stock they have.

This means that existing stock is not being replenished fast enough.

Oh, and also....

With all of the disruption of Covid, it meant that containers were not moving with the frequency they used to.

This meant the UK had a lot of empty containers sitting in ports that were not returning to China. This caused a shortage of containers for exporters shipping to the UK.

This shortage resulted in a sharp increase in container shipping prices by a factor of 10 (they increased in price by ten times).

The Trend

When you add all of these unfortunate circumstances together, the result is low stock and a continuing increase in prices.

So, for example. An item that costs £189 today may increase by as much as 30-50% more by November/December (the retailers busiest months).

It also looks like we are going to see a lot more weeks of fuel shortages.

Not because the UK is short of fuel, but because headlines of people queuing at petrol stations, getting into fights, and filling jerry cans have fueled (excuse the pun) a demand for fuel which is an artificial one.

Thank you, "British media".

So what does this mean for RiiRoo customers?

With a lack of drivers and slow container movement, it means there are going to be long waits for new stock. The long wait means there is a knock-on effect as our existing stock is being sold pretty quickly. 

Ordinarily, our previous customers have waited until closer to Christmas (November) to make their purchases. However, this year more and more people are starting to buy early. And to be honest, we can't blame them.

With the driver shortage, it means there is a lot of uncertainty out there at the moment.

What Do We Suggest?

This probably won't surprise you to hear us say this, but, we recommend purchasing anything you want for Christmas now!

This year is quite unlike previous years. Retailers always loaded up on excess stock to cover this busy period.

However, this year is very different. Retailers are now faced with low stock and have no choice but to increase prices based on supply and demand.

Secure The Price

Unfortunately, we are unable to store your items after purchase, so it means you would need to purchase your RiiRoo's sooner rather than later and store them yourself.

The same is true for most retailers who are experiencing the effects of the driver shortage at this moment in time.

It means that if you don't purchase it now, you will have to wait until mid December when stock levels return back to normal (if they ever do).

This could mean paying an extra 30-50% more on the price of our toys! We all know how expensive Christmas can be already...so why make things worse?

Is Now The Time For you to Buy Electric?

On an unrelated note :)

If you are reading this, you are obviously in the market to buy a battery-electric car for your child or grandchild.

How about you?

Have you thought about purchasing an electric car yourself?

Bear in mind that future fuel shortages may be more frequent than we would like to admit. This means that future prices of fuel may increase, and quite quickly too!

(Courtesy of Tesla.com: Image shown is a Tesla Model S Performance)

If you don't want to have a regular bill for petrol or diesel in the future...why not consider an electric car instead?

Note: It means you won't have to continuously queue up for petrol ever again.

Not only are they coming down in price dramatically. But, also the running costs are a lot cheaper too.

The savings could be substantial if you consider the cost of petrol or diesel against electricity (lower mileage, but also lower price).

There's no need to take it in for a service, no exhaust to replace, no silly oil changes, no air filters, and with regenerative braking (a system that recharges the electric car as you brake.

The energy generated from slowing down or stopping turns the wheels and charges the battery). It means you won't need to replace the brake pads anywhere near as often.

As you can see, there are a lot of benefits to owning an electric car.

They're clean, they're good for the environment and they will save you money in the long term!