Retailers can’t catch a break ahead of the holidays. Not only is the US running out of just about everything, but even when goods come in, there aren’t enough drivers to get them where they need to go.

It’s a problem that was in the making prior to the pandemic. But supply-chain issues amid the busiest time of the retail year have put things into overdrive. In 2018, the trucking industry was short by 60,800 drivers, and the American Trucking Association predicts that number will go up to 100,000 by 2023.

• Companies are offering lucrative sign-on bonuses (up to $15,000) and higher wages to lure in new drivers. Meanwhile President Joe Biden is trying to keep the Port of Los Angeles open 24 hours a day to battle bottlenecks.

What happened? Drivers are tired, logistics experts told us. Port closures across the US and China, for example, have created substantial backlogs at customs, forcing truckers to make multiple long-distance trips in a single day.

“They’ve all been asked to do so much during the last 18 months,” Piyush Golia, president of PCA Group, a global distribution company, told Retail Brew. “A sense of fatigue is stepping in between all the deliveries, whether it’s a small parcel or even long.”

Winding up

Health and safety concerns have emerged as another major factor as the Delta variant surges across the country, explained Dave Gilbertson, chief customer officer at UKG, a workforce management company.

“It will take a high degree of comfort in an employer’s healthcare and workplace safety practices among folks waiting on the sidelines before they are ready to re-enter the workforce,” he said. “They don’t want to get sick when they come to work.”

Training new drivers can take “at least 12 to 18 months,” per Gilbertson, so there’s no easy solution. “These are not folks you can just hire off the street.”

• For companies that want to retain their existing driver workforce, he said they should prepare to offer perks like flexible schedules.

Final countdown: As for where things stand now, well...retailers are racing to fill both physical (and virtual) shelves ahead of the holidays.

One last-ditch effort to get stuff on time is a “shared truckload,” suggested Chris Pickett, chief strategy officer at Flock Freight—which essentially enables different companies to share trailer space in a single full truckload. That can help retailers “expedite transit times” and potentially “outmaneuver the competition,” he said, thus capitalizing on the spending that’s already happening.

The biggest takeaway, though: Whatever solutions retailers are thinking about now...they should have been done yesterday.

Click here to read more on the long road ahead this holiday season—and beyond.—JS

The athleisure boom is giving way to some big winners. This week, DTC activewear company Vuori nabbed $400 million in funding from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuing it at $4 billion. And they’re taking that $$$ on the road and straight to the store. (Once a rare move for DTC brands, physical retail has become a clear value add.)

Vuori will use the fresh funding to take its biz international, expanding through Europe and Asia Pacific in 2022, as well as more brick-and-mortar in the US. The company plans on opening 100 additional stores over the next five years.

• The success has been written in the stars for a while now. Vuori reached profitability in 2017, just two years after its inception.

Store story: “On top of being a place to see, feel, try on, and learn about our latest and greatest product, we like to think of all of our stores as community hubs,” Nikki Sakelliou, VP of marketing, told Retail Brew. Pre-pandemic, the brand would host in-store events like workout classes to engage consumers.

But Vuori doesn’t want its bold brick-and-mortar expansion to overshadow its bread and butter. “We are firm believers in the in-person shopping experience, but also know that e-commerce will always be a vital part of our business,” Sakelliou said. “We recognize a ton of value in making sure Vuori is a true, omnichannel business that customers can discover and enjoy in a variety of different ways.”—JG

Shopify is forging ahead on its quest to be a one-stop shop for its merchants.

Yesterday, the Canadian e-commerce giant introduced an enterprise resource planning (ERP) program to its app.

• Shopify is teaming up with Microsoft and Oracle, among others, to consolidate merchants’ commerce operations into one database that tracks inventory, products, orders, and customer info.
• Previously, merchants used third-party apps to connect Shopify to their ERP tools.

One of the main benefits? Saving time and money, of course.

“With [fewer] applications needed to run their businesses, merchants can introduce more automation, making their operations more efficient,” Shopify noted in a release.

All together now: The e-comm platform has been introducing new perks of late—including expanding one-click checkout to Facebook and Google, as well as rolling out a buy now, pay later option through Affirm.

In short: Shopify wants to be everything a merchant could ever need. President Harley Finkelstein reiterated as much during a July earnings call.

• “We want to be the most important piece of software that our merchants use. We are that centralized operating system,” he said.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Trending: The manicure industry has to hand it to nail art. (Business of Fashion)

On the inside: An in-depth investigation into how Amazon pushed its own products in India. (Reuters)

Shape-shifters: Mannequins are increasingly reflecting the real world. That can be a loyalty play for brands. (Retail Dive)

In case you missed it: Shopify’s Commerce+ event is now on demand. Enjoy unfiltered convos from industry makers like Jimmy Butler, Mel Marsden, Jon Wexler, and more as they discuss the future of commerce. Btw, it’s free. Watch here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Etsy sellers look to get in on the Squid Game craze
• E-comm job openings up 180% from last year: GlobalData
• What retailers need to know about Black Friday 2021

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. William Shatner took Star Trek toys that Jeff Bezos made himself to space.
2. Heinz is selling a “Tomato Blood” costume kit that includes a bottle of its special-edition Halloween ketchup, makeup brushes, and vampire teeth.
3. Bounty is rolling out a line of eggnog-scented paper towels for the holidays.
4. Burger King Korea introduced a new menu—for dogs.

Keep reading for the answer.