The countdown to the holiday season is on – that is, preorders for holiday advent calendars from Delicious Food Delivered, a Milwaukee-based company that works with small businesses and food producers to source the daily calendar treats.
The Christmas countdown is not the only thing kicking off the shopping season early, though – tariff concerns and inflation are also motivating consumers to get a head start.
Delicious Food Delivered CEO Theresa Nemetz said the advent calendar business idea was a last-ditch effort to save her city tour business in 2020, when the pandemic brought tourism to a standstill.
Pandemic pivot
As the owner of her Food and City Tours businesses in Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit, Nemetz aimed not only to keep herself afloat, but to throw a lifeline to other small businesses like hers.
Over the last five years, she’s scaled the advent calendar business, and now sources products from independent vendors in 42 states.
In Illinois this year, for instance, small businesses include chocolate-covered candy sticks from Anderson’s Candy Shop in Richmond; Christmas jam from Sutter Produce Co. in Sutter; cinnamon roasted almonds from Completely Nuts in Chicago; mint patty squares from Chocolate Factory in Golconda; and triple-chocolate graham crackers from The Chocolate Affair in Highland.
The $159 advent boxes source more than 850 different products from vendors across the country – and it’s boosting these small businesses’ holiday sales, according to Nemetz.
“I hear from so many of them that people return all year long for their sweets and treats,” she said.
Because many of those vendors are mom-and-pop operations, the preorders, which begin in the summer for Delicious Food Delivered, help them get started early, Nemetz said.
“It takes a long time to dip 15,000 Oreo cookies in chocolate and package them,” she said.
Inflation, tariffs bring early shoppers
Advent calendar preorders aren’t the only thing kicking off the holiday shopping season early this year. Inflation and tariff concerns have consumers searching for deals weeks in advance.
Emily Reasor, a senior partner at McKinsey & Co., said in a podcast in September that a McKinsey survey of 4,000-plus consumers, conducted between July 25 and Aug. 3, showed consumer sentiment remains “very uncertain,” down 35% from 2024.
While consumer concerns over tariffs have cooled from earlier this year, Reasor said shoppers remain “timid.”
“There is a long list of what’s weighing on the consumer. But as we’ve dug into the data, the single largest driver is inflation, pricing and overall affordability,” she said. “Interestingly, the impact of tariffs on consumer sentiment has come down slightly since earlier in the year.
“I think some of that is because consumers are now more accustomed to hearing news about tariffs, as opposed to it being so shocking earlier in the year. But the primary driver remains – as it has over the past several quarters – inflation.”
Wells Fargo’s supply chain finance report, “From Factory to Checkout” released in August, reflected that consumers are getting a head start on shopping this year.
“Sixty-six percent of shoppers plan to start earlier to avoid shipping delays, and retailers are encouraging early shopping to smooth out demand and reduce last-minute logistics pressure,” the report said.
Supply chain agility is key for businesses this holiday, according to Wells Fargo.
“From factory floors to front doors, the chain reaction of tariffs on supply chains is real and immediate. Businesses that invest in supply chain agility, diversify sourcing and manage cash flow strategically will be best positioned to navigate the uncertainty ahead,” the report noted. “For consumers, the message is clear: shop early, stay flexible and expect a holiday season unlike any other.”
