'Major, major shortages,' Halloween supply shortage hits Simcoe County

Barrie, Ont. -

With just over a week until Halloween, people of all ages are rushing to secure their costumes, but it may already be too late.

"Major, major shortages," said The Party Store's Brian Tracey.

Shortages in goods for the spooky event are happening right across the country with the pandemic playing a major role.

"We just had an order come in," said Tracey. "On most of the pages, one item shipped - out of the entire page."

Tracey has owned and operated The Party Store in Barrie for decades, and he said the inventory issues aren't limited to Halloween.

"Our balloon industry, they don't have the workers to fill the orders. The factories are all reduced staff, the shipping is all reduced, and everything costs way more too," he explained.

Greg Dobson opened Spirit Halloween in the old Sears Building on Bayfield Street in Barrie. He said they were concerned about supply shortages with ships sitting outside of the Los Angeles port for days.

"We thought maybe we may be short on stock or coming in late, but we were able to get everything," he said.

The Retail Council of Canada said the shortages and delays on goods would likely run into the holiday shopping season.