Material shortages, disrupted supply chains, port congestion: the list of obstacles that are currently affecting the supply of goods in Germany is long.
Nevertheless, German retailers do not expect any major disruptions in the search for Christmas presents.
"With a view to the upcoming Christmas business, there is no need to worry," said the general manager of the German Retail Association (HDE), Stefan Genth, on Wednesday.
"The search for suitable Christmas presents is assured again this year."
This time too, new releases and new models of very popular products may be scarce.
One example is the still scarce game consoles, such as the PlayStation 5 and its accessories.
Industry observers recommend those who want to give them away as gifts to buy them now.
"But it is not to be expected that people will stand in front of empty shelves when they do their Christmas shopping," said Genth.
In the past few years, German retailers had a combined turnover of around 100 billion euros each in November and December.
Supplies from Asia endangered
The pandemic presents retailers with challenges when it comes to purchasing goods.
"The delivery of non-food items from Asia in particular is currently associated with a number of challenges at the production and logistics level," said Genth.
Manufacturers were surprised by a rapidly increasing global demand.
At the same time, they were still struggling with the effects of the pandemic, such as government restrictions.
This is particularly evident in the Asian region.
In addition, the logistics chains are massively disrupted by the ongoing pandemic - for example the procurement of sea freight containers, which are often not available in the places where they are needed.