18 August 2026: Consumers are set to bear the brunt of ongoing global supply chain disruption, with more than a third of businesses actively planning to increase prices to offset costs in the next six months, new research from the British Standards Institution (BSI) shows.
A global survey of 700 professionals across ESG, logistics, procurement and supply chain functions and 703 workers in retail & consumer goods, food & beverage, Agriculture, and pharmaceuticals*, commissioned by resilience experts at BSI, reveals that recent supply chain shocks are directly impacting the end consumer. To mitigate against potential or ongoing disruptions over the next six months, over a third (36%) say their business plans to increase prices. Furthermore, shoppers are set to face reduced choices and longer wait times for goods, meaning they could struggle to get hold of everything from consumer electronics to medicines.
The data shows that more than a quarter (28%) of respondents plan to reduce the range of products or SKUs on offer in the next six months, while just over two in ten (21%) are planning pauses to new orders altogether (24% are already doing so, and a further 30% expect to do so within the year). The majority (81%) say they are currently or about to be warning customers about shortages, delays, or dependency risks.
The research highlights that these challenges are being exacerbated by a lack of preparedness for what BSI’s resilience experts describe as ‘a new normal of near-constant disruption’, due to geopolitical turmoil, climate and weather-related incidents and digital transformation.
Looking back at the last six months, including the period in which the Iran war broke out, earthquakes struck in the Philippines and Venezuela and there were heatwaves and forest fires across Europe, only just over one in three (34%) said they were fully prepared for raw material or component shortages, including scarcity of critical inputs. This is despite almost two fifths having experienced supply chain disruption in the last year due to geopolitical events (38%), with a further 35% having seen issues arise in this period due to raw material or component shortages.
The data shows how businesses are planning to respond to disruption, with four in five (80%) respondents currently or imminently stockpiling or building strategic inventory buffers, and nearly the same proportion (78%) currently or considering nearshoring their supply chain in the next 12 months. With key shipping routes disrupted and high levels of freight theft, 79% are already or planning to change modes of transporting products.
In the next six months, a third (33%) expect to find new suppliers in the next six months, while almost a quarter expect to shift trade routes (24%). Nearly one in four also said they expect to cut jobs or reduce recruitment due to supply chain pressures (24%).
Tony Pelli, Practice Director, Supply Chain Resilience, BSI, said: "The era of smooth, predictable global trade that defined the last three decades is behind us. Today's supply chains operate in a world shaped by geopolitical competition, climate disruption and increasing uncertainty.
“Businesses are facing a new normal of near-constant disruption. As our research shows, this is not just a concern for those managing operations; we are expecting it to directly impact consumers in the coming months. Whether it will be empty shelves, higher prices or delays to receiving orders, impacts are likely to trickle down to the public as businesses battle one disruption after another. For business leaders, building resilience requires stronger collaboration, improved visibility across supply chains and more proactive approaches to managing risk."
