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 Amazon.com 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(Amazon.com 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%。