According to the Retail Council of Canada, Canadians intend to spend as much or more on Halloween this year, but one expert warns that inflation and supply chain problems could derail preparations for the holiday.
According to Tandy Thomas, an associate professor of marketing at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, “we know that there is a crisis across several industries where people aren’t able to just get the workers in, to ramp up manufacturing, to ramp up shipping, and do all of those things because of disruptions that happened during the pandemic.”
Additionally, Thomas predicted that there won’t be as much Halloween sweets, costumes, or décor on the stores as in years past because the manufacturing capacity isn’t there at the moment.
“(Companies) must set priorities. Do we use our manufacturing capacity to produce our recurring supplies? Or do we pull away from that and risk running out of our normal products and just build Halloween candy? And so there are trade-offs that these companies are making,” Thomas said.
According to a research released in September by the Retail Council of Canada, nearly one in two Canadians (44%) prepare for Halloween, and the majority of Canadians will celebrate this year by making purchases.
According to the study, 86% of Canadians who celebrate Halloween want to spend the same amount of money or more than they did the year before.
According to the council, 16% of Canadians are making purchases up to four weeks before Halloween. However, Thomas argued that while it is wise to shop early owing to supply disruptions, costs have increased due to inflation, which is unavoidable.
“Inflation is going to hit people in a way where they won’t be able to celebrate Halloween the way they used to do it, with the big costumes, the big bowls of candy, and doing so at a time when things cost a lot more is going to put a pinch on people,” Thomas said.
A survey from the Retail Council of Canada indicates that 54% of Canadians anticipate to spend more than $50 this year, an increase of 5.6% from 2021.
Following this are 31% of Canadians who plan to spend between $51 and $100, and 12% who plan to spend between $101 and $150.
In spite of these figures, Thomas predicted that “some households may have to drop out when prices go high” or attempt to wear simpler costumes.
According to Thomas, reverting back to the way things were in the past might not be the greatest course of action for us moving ahead in the future.
If they can’t buy the costume they wanted, “consumers (have to be) more flexible, more imaginative, and possibly reuse costumes from past years.”
One family has made the decision to go all out for Halloween this year.
When it came to having the necessary Halloween necessities like decorations and costumes, Crystal Westland of Toronto said she and her family “did get an early start.”
The shelves were stocked because we were prepared, according to Westland.
Although I am aware that isn’t always the case, I believe that by starting early, you can locate some excellent offers.
Due to COVID-19, Halloween was scaled back in 2020 and 2021, and parents and kids took greater safety measures, like dressing in disguise when going door-to-door.
Westland declared, “We want to give it our all. “Now that we have this freedom, all of a sudden it feels like we want to just enjoy it all.
Halloween will be even more enjoyable if we can attract more children to our street.
Karyn Klaire Koski, a different local who also intends to celebrate Halloween, believes that this year will be more enjoyable for everyone.
Koski remarked, “I think the kids deserve it.
“My husband and myself, we sit out on the porch for the entire time and greet all the children we’ve watched grow up. For twenty years, we have resided here.
The other ones now appear like our grandchildren because our children are grown and gone.
It’s not “necessarily a terrible thing,” she added, that some families aren’t making plans or shopping for Halloween necessities in advance, even though some items might not be readily available in large amounts.
“I believe we purchase what we can. And it’s not about how much candy there is, according to Koski.
“I think it’s all about the camaraderie and the joy and the wonder that the children feel and the ambiance and the parents. It’s customary.
Canadians are not deterred by the economy from increasing their Halloween spending this year.
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