网络零售商偷走了人们的圣诞节

Many shoppers are blaming online retailers for stealing Christmas.

许多顾客抱怨网上零售商偷走了他们的圣诞节。

Companies from Inc. to Kohl's Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. promised to deliver items from headphones to television sets before Christmas, but shipping delays left gift-givers across the country without anything to put under the tree.

从亚马逊公司( Inc.)到Kohl's Corp.再到沃尔玛(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)，网上零售商们信誓旦旦地保证可以在圣诞节前把耳机、电视机等五花八门的商品送到顾客手中。但运输的延误却导致全美国许多人没有礼物可以摆在圣诞树下。

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

圣诞节前夜，家住密歇根州安阿伯的斯科特(Brandon Scott)还在等着他上周六在亚马逊订购的46寸三星(Samsung)电视机和凯特丝蓓(Kate Spade)手表。

'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.

他说：我很懊悔，这些东西本来在我家附近许多零售店都能买到，要不是亚马逊保证商品会在圣诞节前送到，我会很乐意去附近零售店买的。

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.

过去几周网上订单的意外激增似乎使零售商和快递公司的送货和订单处理能力都达到了极限。零售业分析师说，虽然存在天气不好、网络故障和制造商发货延迟等其他因素，但庞大的订单量可能才是主因。

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.

联合包裹运送服务公司(United Parcel Service Inc., 简称UPS)周二晚间确认，一些商品无法在圣诞节及时送达，因为最后时刻的购物需求飙升超过了其系统承受能力。

'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.

UPS发言人罗森堡(Susan Rosenberg)在回答问题时说，UPS系统的空运包裹数量确实超出了承受能力，需求量远远超出我们的预期。UPS运送的包裹数量占美国包裹总数的45%左右，周一进入其空运网络的包裹数量超过了其预计的775万件。

In notifications to some Amazon customers, though, UPS also seemed to blame the e-commerce giant for some of its troubles, saying shipping delays were because it had 'not yet received the package from the shipper.'

但在发给部分亚马逊顾客的通知中，UPS似乎将部分问题归咎于这家电子商务巨头，称运送延迟是因为还没有从发货商收到包裹。

Having pushed delivery deadlines even later this year, some merchants weren't ready for the jump in online orders that came in the last few weeks of December, said Eric Best, chief executive of Mercent Corp., which helps facilitate online sales for more than 550 retailers.

Mercent Corp.首席执行长贝斯特(Eric Best)说，虽然已将今年的最晚送达时间进一步延长，但一些商户对12月份最后几周网上订单数量的激增依然感到措手不及。Mercent为550多家零售商的网上销售提供服务。

'During the holidays, we reach the limits on the capacity of these retailers,' Mr. Best said. 'It's a double whammy for conservative retailers, which have been burned by excess inventory in the past, and underestimated demand.'

贝斯特说，节日期间，零售商的能力都达到极限，保守的零售商则遭到双重打击，他们过去因为库存积压而焦头烂额，这一次却低估了需求。

After years of losing sales to online competitors, retailers have invested heavily in infrastructure to support Web sales and this year made aggressive promises for delivery by Christmas. Last-minute shoppers responded. During the last shopping weekend before Christmas, Web sales jumped by 37% from the year before, according to IBM Digital Analytics. Market research firm Forrester Research expects online sales to increase by 15% this holiday season amid slow mall traffic and weak sales at brick-and-mortar retailers.

多年来不断被网上竞争对手抢走生意的零售商们纷纷加大了网络销售的配套投资，今年打出了圣诞节前保证送货到家的口号，这吸引了那些拖到最后一刻才来购物的消费者。根据IBM Digital Analytics的数据，在圣诞节前的最后一个购物周，网上销售同比飙升37%。市场研究公司Forrester Research预计，这个假日购物季，在商场客流量和实体零售店销售萎靡不振的同时，网上销售将增长15%。

For Wal-Mart shopper David McCarthy, 41 years old, in Evans City, Pa., the shipping snafus meant telling his 10-year-old son that he wouldn't get the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, which were first on his wish list this year. By Christmas Eve, Mr. McCarthy hadn't found a replacement gift.

对家住宾夕法尼亚州埃文斯城的41岁的麦卡锡(David McCarthy)来说，因为他选择在沃尔玛购物，运输不给力意味着他要告诉自己10岁的儿子他无法收到Beats by Dr. Dre耳机了，这是他今年愿望清单上排在第一位的礼品。直到圣诞节前夜，麦卡锡还没有找到可以替代的礼物。

In Alexander City, Ala., Kohl's shopper Andi Burks grumbled over the realization she wouldn't be able to give her husband the sweaters Ms. Burks had ordered on Dec. 19, a day before the cutoff for 'guaranteed Christmas delivery.'

在亚拉巴马州的亚历山大城，在Kohl's购买了商品的伯克斯(Andi Burks)抱怨说，她在12月19日那天下了单子，想送老公一件毛衣，那是“圣诞节保证送达”最后下单日期的前一天，可现在没法完成这个愿望了。

'I thought that since they had stated on their website that it was guaranteed to arrive on time that I would be OK,' she said referring to Kohl's. 'Apparently I was wrong.'

她说：当时我想既然他们(Kohl's)在网站上承诺会按时送达，应该不会出问题，显然我是错了。

Kohl's said on Tuesday it would pay the full cost of all items not delivered in time. 'We are deeply sorry for disappointing our customers expecting delivery in time for Christmas,' spokeswoman Jen Johnson said.

Kohl's周二说，将为所有未及时送达的商品全额退款。该公司发言人约翰逊(Jen Johnson)说，我们让期待商品在圣诞节及时送达的顾客失望了，我们深表歉意。

Groupon Inc. sent customers an email this week suggesting they print out a picture of their present in lieu of the promised on-time delivery of the actual gift, as well as a $25 gift certificate. 'We know it doesn't make up for the disappointment of not getting your item in time for the holidays,' the email said.

Groupon Inc.本周向顾客发了一封电子邮件，建议他们打印出所购礼物的图片，暂时代替该公司承诺按时送达的实际礼物，该公司还赠送顾客一张25美元的礼品券。电子邮件中说，我们知道这难以弥补大家在节日期间无法及时收到所购物品的失望。

The deals site 'successfully fulfilled and delivered an overwhelming majority of orders,' said spokesman Nicholas Halliwell.

这家团购网站的发言人哈利韦尔(Nicholas Halliwell)说，该公司成功完成并投送了绝大部分顾客订购的物品。

It is unclear how widespread the delays were or which retailers suffered the most problems. Weather delays, mislabeled packages, and even errors by customers entering their own delivery information can cause delays.

不清楚这次的投送延迟影响范围有多大，也不清楚哪些零售商遇到的问题最多。天气原因、误标的包裹，甚至是顾客在填写投递信息时犯的错误，这些都可能造成投递延迟。

Kohl's, Wal-Mart and UPS said a small percentage of customers experienced delays but declined to elaborate on how many people were affected. Amazon said it was unaware of major shipping delays.

Kohl's、沃尔玛和UPS说，有一小部分顾客遭遇了延迟，但拒绝详细说明有多少人受到影响。亚马逊说，未发觉有重大运送延迟的问题。

Typically, about 15% of online shoppers who order items by retailers' specified cutoff dates don't get their packages by Christmas Eve, Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru said. But with more gifts being shipped in the mail, the volume of errors is likely to rise, even if the percentage doesn't.

Forrester Research分析师穆普鲁(Sucharita Mulpuru)说，一般来讲，在零售商指定的截止日期前下单的网络购物者中约有15%在平安夜前收不到包裹。但由于寄送的礼物增多，出错量可能会增加，即便出错率不变。

UPS, which handled more than 500 million packages during last year's peak period, was expecting an 8% rise in volumes this year. The U.S. Postal Service, meanwhile, said it expected to ship a record 420 million packages between Thanksgiving and New Year's, an increase of 12% from last year. The Postal Service in some cases plans to deliver on Christmas Day itself.

UPS在去年的高峰期里处理了超过5亿个包裹。该公司预计今年包裹量将上升8%。与此同时，美国邮政总局(U.S. Postal Service)说，它预计在今年的感恩节至元旦期间，将运送创纪录的4.2亿个包裹，较上年同比增加12%。美国邮政总局有些情况下会安排在圣诞节当天投递包裹。

'We've heard more noise about shipping problems this year than usual,' said Chris Saridakis, president of eBay Enterprise, which handles shipping for more than 70 retailers including Toys 'R' Us Inc. and Aéropostale Inc.

eBay Enterprise总裁萨勒达奇斯(Chris Saridakis)说，今年我们听到的有关运输问题的投诉比往年要多。该公司为超过70家零售商提供运输服务，包括玩具反斗城(Toys "R" Us Inc.)和服装零售商Aeropostale Inc.。

Part of the problem is handling an increased number of orders in a shorter time frame, given that there were six fewer shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

问题之一是需要在更短的时间内处理更多的订单，因为今年感恩节与圣诞节之间的购物日比往年少了六天。

'These retailers just don't have enough labor,' Mr. Saridakis said, noting that while most of the distribution centers are automated, 'you still need people to pack and unpack boxes.'

萨勒达奇斯说，这些零售商没有足够的工人。他指出，尽管大部分配送中心都是自动化的，但仍需要人来打包和拆包箱子。

Retailers like Amazon and Wal-Mart have been building more fulfillment centers and other infrastructure to handle surging online orders. This year, Amazon hired 70,000 seasonal workers for its U.S. warehouses, a 40% increase from the year before.

像亚马逊和沃尔玛这样的零售商一直在修建更多的物流中心和其他基础设施，以便处理不断激增的网络订单。今年，亚马逊为其美国的仓库雇佣了7万名季节工，较上年同比增加了40%。

To ease pressures on possible shipping bottlenecks, many retail chains have promoted the option to pick up items purchased online inside stores. That plan might have backfired for companies like Wal-Mart, where dozens of customers complained that items weren't available for pickup in stores by the promised date.

为缓解给可能出现的运输瓶颈带来的压力，很多连锁店鼓励顾客到店自提在网上购买的物品。这项计划对沃尔玛这样的公司可能带来了事与愿违的结果。在沃尔玛，数十名顾客抱怨说，在该公司承诺的日期前他们无法在店内自提所购物品。

The problem seemed to be biggest for customers who had lined up for hours during Thanksgiving weekend to get special deals on popular televisions and tablets.

对那些在感恩节周末期间排了几个小时的队抢购特价热卖电视和平板电脑的顾客来说，问题似乎是最大的。

As part of Wal-Mart's Black Friday promises, shoppers who lined up for the best door-buster deals were told that if the store ran out of stock, then the items they paid for would be available for store pickup by Dec. 22. But in some cases, the items weren't available and shoppers jammed customer-service phone lines and took to Facebook and Twitter to gripe at the retailer.

作为沃尔玛黑色星期五的承诺的一部分，排队抢购特价商品的购物者被告知，如果店内缺货，他们可以在12月22日前到店自提订购的商品。但有些情况下，到了该公司承诺的日期店内仍没有货，购物者打爆了客服电话，并在Facebook和推特(Twitter)上表达对这家零售商的不满。

Wal-Mart said the issue affected only a small percentage of the five million people who took part in its one-hour guarantee promotion.

沃尔玛说，这个问题仅影响了参与沃尔玛一小时限时促销活动的500万人中的一小部分。

But by Christmas Eve, it was too late for some customers like Terence Kavanaugh in Louisville, Ky.

但在平安夜前，对一些顾客来说已经为时过晚，比如肯塔基州路易斯维尔的卡瓦诺(Terence Kavanaugh)。

After losing hope on getting the $98 Emerson television he bought his 9-year-old daughter at Wal-Mart over Thanksgiving weekend, he went to Best Buy and bought a second TV for $179.

感恩节周末他在沃尔玛花了98美元给九岁的女儿买了一台艾默生(Emerson)电视机，但由于迟迟未收到货，他不再抱希望。于是去百思买(Best Buy)花179美元又买了一台。

'It's more expensive but I'm not going to let Wal-Mart ruin my daughter's Christmas,' he said.

他说，这台电视机更贵，但我不会让沃尔玛毁了我女儿的圣诞节。