Download this article in PDF format.
For most consumers, the term “supply chain” barely registered before the global pandemic left the store shelves stripped clean and extended order lead times for everything from household furniture to semiconductors to automobiles. Suddenly, items that either could be had with a short trip to the store, a half-day at an auto dealership or an online order were taking months to fulfill.
Amid that disruption, supply chains moved from the background to the forefront of everyday purchasing decisions. Consumers began paying attention to availability, delivery timelines and pricing in ways they hadn’t before, often with little visibility into the forces shaping those outcomes. Years later, that awareness remains, but expectations have continued to rise, widening the gap between what consumers want and what supply chains are able to deliver.
Shifting Policies are Straining Supply Chains
The pandemic may be firmly in the rearview mirror, but new survey data reveals that consumer expectations continue to outpace supply chain realities. Based on responses from both shoppers and supply chain leaders, the research underscores growing tension around delivery options, pricing, availability and trust at a time when supply chains are under increasing pressure from tariffs, compliance requirements and volatile demand.
In its Supply Chain Integrity Outlook 2026, Impinj says tariff tensions highlight a disconnect between affordability and reality for consumers. Concerns around tariffs and trade shifts are introducing even more uncertainty, with 84% of supply chain leaders saying that changing foreign trade policies are affecting their planning. These uncertainties are creating the need for sourcing adjustments (54%) and increased customer prices (53%).
Impinj also found that consumer tolerance for these cost increases is limited, with more than half (56%) of customers saying they would stop buying a product if tariff-related costs were passed onto them. “This tension further highlights the widening gap between global supply chain realities and consumer expectations for product affordability and availability,” the company says.
Other Key Report Findings
The report explored various different aspects of the supply chain-consumer disconnect, with some of the other findings being:
- Food supply chains struggle with safety, compliance and waste. More than half (59%) of food supply chain leaders are concerned with meeting FDA traceability requirements; over one-third expect to miss the deadline; and food brands lose an average of $79 million annually to food waste. (The original compliance date for the Food Traceability Rule was Jan. 20, 2026 but the FDA has proposed extending the compliance date for the rule by 30 months.)
- Counterfeit products also remain a big problem. According to the survey, 78% of retailers and retail goods suppliers say preventing unauthorized or fake versions of their products from reaching the market is a problem. Most (71%) report damage to brand reputation or revenue as a result. Consumers have low tolerance for counterfeits: 58% say they would stop buying a brand that unknowingly sold them a counterfeit product.
- Fraudulent shipping is on the rise. Seventy-six percent of companies surveyed reported an increase in fraudulent shipping incidents, mirroring the 38% of consumers who say they’ve been victims themselves (including receiving the wrong item or never getting a package that was marked as delivered). Also, 60% of consumers say one fraudulent shipping experience would cause them to abandon a brand altogether.
- Buyers want more convenient pickup and delivery options. More than half (56%) of supply chain leaders face increasing pressure to provide faster, more flexible delivery and pickup options, while 51% of consumers say they’re likely to stop buying from brands that don’t offer convenient choices.
- Viral commerce drives demand volatility. Imping says social media and influencer trends drove 42% of purchases in 2025. That trend created unpredictable spikes in demand, with half of supply chain leaders struggling to keep up and 52% saying that rapid demand shifts are the “biggest threat to supply chain integrity” (up nearly 30 percentage points from 2024).
On a positive note, Impinj says confidence in organizational supply chain integrity is high right now, with 77% of senior supply chain professionals reporting a high level of supply chain integrity within their organization (up from 60% last year). And 95% of supply chain leaders believe their organizations are equipped to drive accurate supply chain visibility, while nearly half (49%) say they are consistently driving accurate, 360-deg. real-time supply chain visibility (compared to 33% last year).
