Hacking Holiday Shopping Shortages With a Tech Alternative [Infographic]

Holiday shopping has never been as stressful as this year with supply chain issues causing limited supply of the must-have gifts, longer shipping times, and increased prices.  Many are anticipating a 30% slowdown for first-class mail especially with shipping times being 83% longer for products delivered from China to the U.S. this year. 

This is causing significant problems for those hoping to buy electronics this holiday season as prices have risen as much as $50 for each gadget and top tech gifts selling out faster than ever before.  Due to the ongoing chip shortage, tech has become harder to source.  The costs of shipping containers, air freight, and trucking have also increased exponentially this year: Sending containers from Asia to the U.S. costs more than 14 times what it did in 2019 while air cargo rates from Asia to the U.S. have increased by 40% in just a few months.  Average shipping times are up to 73 days in 2021 as well.  

Is there a way to get the tech gifts you need in time for the holidays? In fact, there is, and it involves digging out your used devices.  Repairing and regifting used tech can be an easy solution that is fast, eco-friendly, and cost effective.  There are actually more than 120 million used smartphones available in the world with 70% of consumers having at least one unused device.  Repairing used tech rather than buying new tech could save Americans more than $40 billion each year.  

Getting old devices fixed can give them new life while costing less and taking less time compared to purchasing a new device.  9.2% of tech repair visits are related to fixing the charging port, USB port, or headphone jacks, which can be done free of charge.  Replacing the hard drive enhances the performance and storage of devices while changing the battery can extend a device’s lifespan by several years. 

It is estimated that 50 million smartphone screens are broken each year, but it’s an easy fix that can be completed in 45 minutes or less.  Replacements on average costs just $110 or less, making it a much more affordable alternative to replacing devices.  

The best tech gift this year might not involve rushing to the tech store but instead a quick search in your house.