Chip shortage could make holiday tech gifts harder to find

Video games consoles, cell phones, and board games are just some of the gifts at the top of everyone’s list this year. Yet, experts say, a chip shortage a supply chain issues could make it difficult to find these items.

WINK News reporter Andrea Guerrero went to Best Buy, Walmart, and Target in Collier County on a mission to hunt down these hard-to-find gifts. Xbox, Play Station 5, iPhone 13s, and many appliances and games were in stock.

Denise Sicilianol lives in Naples and says he wasn’t aware of any shortage. “I didn’t see a shortage. I saw a lot of TVs going out, a lot of electronics. The shelves seem pretty full. They keep filling them up. They’re doing an awesome job in there. I didn’t see a shortage at all. Everyone looked happy,” said Sicilianol.

She was worried that she wouldn’t be able to find what she was looking for when she began her Black Friday shopping trip. Supply chain issues and microchip shortage pushed her to preorder a laptop.

“I was scared that I’d get here and it wouldn’t be here,” said Sicilianol.

Andy Serafin lives on Marco Island. “I stopped at Costco and then came to Best Buy to see who’s got the better variety of product(s), and it seems like they have a lot of electronics. I don’t see that there’s as much of a shortage as I thought there’d be,” Serafin said.

There was one thing Andrea struggled to find at these three big box stores: tablets and iPads.

However, if you’re looking for a new TV, those are plentiful. So, focus on looking for the best price.

Interestingly enough, there were more Black Friday shoppers in the evening than early this morning. However, all these shoppers say they are glad they didn’t wait until the last minute.