'Scary' supply chain issues are even impacting Halloween costumes
For those celebrating Halloween this year, it may be one of the scariest parts of the festivities: many retailers are scrambling for stock this year, and those who do have costumes and decorations are charging a lot more.
Recent supply chain issues have impacted so many facets of Canadian life, and Halloween is no different.
A cautious 2020 left many inside and sales low across the board. But now that many feel comfortable celebrating Halloween again, demand is skyrocketing.
That's caught many suppliers off guard.
At Calgary's The Costume Shoppe, owner Ryan Schoel says it was an early gamble that saved his season.
"My orders started in January," he told CTV News. "Actually, some even started in December. I was very nervous. I took a position and it was either going to happen or I was going to have a lot of bills at the end of it all."
Some of those orders were still trickling in this week, but Schoel considers his overflowing shelves a fortunate pay-off.
Not every retailer was so lucky.
Many, no doubt feeling hesitant over the uncertainty of the pandemic, opted to wait out orders to see if demand would increase or if shipping costs would go down.
But deep into October, neither has happened.
U.S.-based HalloweenCostumes.com, which ships directly to Canadian consumers, said many retailers are struggling as they see a roughly 50 per cent increase in year-over-year demand compared with last year.
Spokeswoman Ashley Theis said much of the stock HalloweenCostumes.com ordered won't even arrive until after the holiday.
“This will just have to be 2022 Halloween inventory,” she said. "Few retailers are able to keep up.”
And as most Canadians know, it's not just Squid Games costumes and cobweb decorations.
"Any product you can think of, there's a shortage of it," Jori Logistics Sam Woods said.
Cargo and container shortages and massive port delays mean supply is slow-coming and limited.
"All these things on top of each other are making product hard to get here, and the prices extremely expensive," Woods said.
He believes things could even out late next year, but expects to hear even more stories of limited supply as December's holidays creep closer.
Woods says his advice to those celebrating Halloween next weekend is the same advice for businesses trying to stay on top of retail supply: order as early as possible and be prepared to pay more.
(With files from the Canadian Press)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.