By analyzing the US retailers' latest quarterly results, we find out that the US large retailers have universally built more inventories heading into the fourth quarter. The net cash outflow increased meaningfully across the board, particularly in the last two quarters. Large retail chains have significantly more resources than SMBs, which helps them deal with supply chain bottlenecks and source inventory much better. For example, Target and Bestbuy have set up sourcing teams early in 2021 and are confident of meeting the demand for the holiday season. Amazon has been restocking a lot more for its 1st-party store, relying less on 3rd party merchants on its platform.

• "Bottom line, based on the incredible efforts of our team, we feel good about our inventory levels heading into the holiday season." -- Brian Cornell, Target CEO

• "Our merchant demand planning and supply chain teams made strategic sourcing and inventory decisions early in the year to set us up well heading into the holiday. we entered Q4 with 15% more inventory year-over-year and feel confident in our ability to serve our customers throughout the holiday." -- Corie Barry, Best Buy CEO

National Retailers YTD Net Cash Outflow on Inventory ($, Millions)

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National Retailers YTD Net Cash Outflow on Inventory ($, Millions)

Department Stores YTD Net Cash Outflow on Inventory ($, Millions)

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Department Stores YTD Net Cash Outflow on Inventory ($, Millions)