'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
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.
Government proposes new policy for federally regulated employees to disconnect from work
In their 2024 budget, the federal government wants to amend the Canada Labour Code, so employers in federally regulated sectors will eliminate work-related communication with employees outside of scheduled hours. If implemented, this would affect roughly 500,000 employees across the country.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.