The GLITCH That Stole Christmas

Companies from Amazon.com Inc. to Kohl’s Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. promised to deliver items On Christmas Eve, but shipping glitches left customers country-wide without anything to put under the tree.

On Christmas Eve, Brandon Scott was still waiting for a 46-inch Samsung TV and Kate Spade watch he ordered from Amazon on Saturday.

“I’m frustrated because these items could have easily been purchased at various retailers in my area, something I would have gladly done had Amazon not guaranteed’ their arrival before Christmas,” said Mr. Scott of Ann Arbor, Mich.

An unexpected surge of online orders in the past few weeks appears to have strained the limits of delivery and fulfillment infrastructure at retailers and parcel carriers. While instances of bad weather, Web glitches and late deliveries from manufacturers also played a part, the sheer volume may have been the problem, according to retail analysts.

United Parcel Service Inc. determined late Tuesday that it wouldn’t be able to get some goods to customers in time for Christmas, as a spike in last-minute shopping demand overwhelmed its system.

“The volume of air packages in the UPS system did exceed capacity as demand was much greater than our forecast,” spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said in response to questions. UPS delivers around 45% of U.S. packages and saw more shipments enter its air network on Monday than the 7.75 million it expected.

Were you or someone you know affected by this so-called “glitch?” Leave your story below in the form of a comment!

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