Supply chain crisis hits Halloween in US as shelves are stripped bare leaving ...

Supply chain crisis hits Halloween in US as shelves are stripped bare leaving ...
Supply chain crisis hits Halloween in US as shelves are stripped bare leaving ...

Halloween is under threat from supply chain chaos as 'distraught' shoppers are already battling empty shelves and canceled orders weeks ahead of the festivities.

Costumes, decorations and candy remain held up in ports due to a shortage of truck drivers, warehouse space and bottlenecks in the network.

Customers are already venting their fury after having to forego Halloween last year due to the Covid pandemic, only to be faced with the prospect of another muted celebration this year due to supply issues.

Halloween is under threat from supply chain chaos as 'distraught' shoppers are already battling empty shelves and canceled orders weeks ahead of the festivities

Halloween is under threat from supply chain chaos as 'distraught' shoppers are already battling empty shelves and canceled orders weeks ahead of the festivities

Costumes, decorations and candy remain held up in ports due to a shortage of truck drivers, warehouse space and bottlenecks in the network

Costumes, decorations and candy remain held up in ports due to a shortage of truck drivers, warehouse space and bottlenecks in the network

Customers are already venting their fury after having to forego Halloween last year due to the Covid pandemic

Customers are already venting their fury after having to forego Halloween last year due to the Covid pandemic

A Home Depot spokeswoman said stock on Halloween items went quickly because consumers are engaged with decorating again this year.

Stores sold out of pre-release Halloween products almost immediately this year, president Ted Decker said in August.  

An employee at Spirit Halloween in Layton, Utah, said: '[Our selection was] really good between the middle of September and the end of September. Once October hit it was just gone, gone, gone.'

A company spokesperson added they have 'experienced a few scares this Halloween season' after enduring delays and expensive shipping costs.  

Meanwhile Lowes said stores have been stocking Halloween and Christmas good earlier than usual.

Arts and crafts chain Michaels was forced to acknowledge that 'we had some shipping delays this year' after a Halloween photo on its Instagram page was met with a barrage of complaints from customers unable to buy their pumpkins. 

Ben Weaver, 27, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, told the Wall Street Journal: 'I went to Lowe's, Home Depot, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and I'm already seeing the Christmas stuff replace the Halloween stuff which is ridiculous.

'I'm like, "hello, are we just skipping Halloween this year?'"' 

Shoppers say they have been forced to hand-make decorations and costumes after struggling to find any decor in shops or online

Shoppers say they have been forced to hand-make decorations and costumes after struggling to find any decor in shops or online

A shopper walks past shelves with only a few items in the Halloween section in a Target store in Miami

A shopper walks past shelves with only a few items in the Halloween section in a Target store in Miami

One shopper raged online: 'Disappointed with Target and their lack of stocking their shelves with Halloween decor. The shelves have been empty every time I've gone in.'

Another said: 'I know it's supply chain shortages and so businesses have had to order less and order super far in advance but I am also allowed to be super distraught that so many places are out of Halloween stuff already and my baking plans are foiled.'

Some say they have been forced to hand-make decorations and costumes after struggling to find any decor in shops or online.

One Halloween-themed store in Florida said it has been a 'nightmare' trying to navigate the supply chain issues which are also threatening to detail Christmas.

Crissy Barchers, the owner of Red Headed Witches, told NBC 2: 'We are very excited that Halloween season is here. 

'We are under some crazy experience where shipping is a nightmare, getting product is a nightmare, our wholesaler can't get product because the cargo ships are stuck waiting to unload and there's no one to unload them. 

Halloween shoppers are being encouraged to shop for costumes and supplies early as stores struggle to maintain holiday stock due to disruptions in the supply chain

Halloween shoppers are being encouraged to shop for costumes and supplies early as stores struggle to maintain holiday stock due to disruptions in the supply chain

Many stores say they placed their Halloween orders back in January and are still waiting for them to be delivered

Many stores say they placed their Halloween orders back in January and are still waiting for them to be delivered

'We didn't even realize this was going to be an issue until mid to late September. By mid-September when all of our big Halloween initial orders started coming, sometimes it was half short.'

The shop-owner said she is desperately searching every day to find products but she is currently on a seven to ten day waiting list for orders just to be processed, even before shipping is taken into account.

Many stores say they placed their Halloween orders back in January and are still waiting for them to be delivered.

D. Nachnani, president of Harygul's Halloween Superstore in Virginia, told WTKR: 'The scariest thing to me as an owner is having an empty rack

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