Buy holiday gifts earlier than usual or face empty shelves, retailers warn

SASKATOON -

Because of supply-chain woes, retailers are warning Christmas shoppers to buy earlier than usual or they’ll face empty shelves for popular items this holiday season.

Lori Parker, co-owner of Treasure Island Toys store in Toronto, told CTV News her one piece of advice is: “Shop now.”

While her store is currently stocked with popular items, such as bubble-popping toys or squeezable noodles, she’s seeing early signs that things will change in the coming weeks.

Already, she’s been told certain toys can’t be ordered anymore.

And while shipments from other suppliers have trickled in, delays have been far more common than in previous years. For example, an order she placed two months ago for a popular doll has yet to show up, when normally it would’ve only taken two weeks.

Doug Putman, owner of Toys “R” Us Canada and founder of Putman Investments, said his company has already placed larger-than-usual orders for products this year.

“Every year hot toys sell out, and so this year is even worse," he told CTV News, adding that he urges parents to start buying now, especially if they have something specific in mind.

Karen Micallef is one of those parents who’ve heard the message loud and clear.

"It is early -- we just heard about the short supply of toys. So I just wanted to get my shopping done prior to going to store and [it] being out of items,” she told CTV News.

DON’T EXPECT DEALS IN THE FUTURE: TOY EXPERT

Experts have said that the pandemic has led to reductions in the number of people working in ports and factories, so companies have since had a difficult time resuming full operations.

This has led to a bottleneck in the global transportation pipeline, which is creating issues for hundreds of industries. Experts have already stated that besides toys, items which are going to be harder to find in the coming months include furniture and appliances; clothing, handbags and shoes; as well as winter tires.

Ongoing supply-chain woes have led to big toy retailers and manufacturers taking a big hit financially. Hasbro has said global supply chain disruptions have cost them about US$100 million in lost toy orders in the third quarter.

But a silver lining for some of these companies may be that, when it comes to holiday shopping, a recent survey suggested Canadians are expected to go return to pre-pandemic levels.

The Retail Council of Canada survey found that Canadians say they are going to spend significantly more on shopping and visit more brick-and-mortar stores in the coming months.

But don’t expect last-minute deals which typically drop closer to the holidays, one expert warns.

“We are anticipating that due to some of the supply chain issues, some of those discounts may be harder to find,” Andrew Wagner, Canadian Toy Association spokesperson, told CTV News.