HOUSTON — Costumes and Halloween makeup were picked over at most of the stores in the Houston area Friday night; however, last-minute costume shoppers might be able to find what they’re looking for at a few spots that still have products on the shelves.
Halloween 2021 is going to be big.
The National Retail Federation expects Americans will spend more than $10 billion on the holiday this year. It’ll be the most expensive Halloween ever.
Dozens of shoppers at Top Dog Halloween Madness were on the hunt for the perfect costume Friday evening.
“I needed something quick; last minute,” one shopper said.
Others are searching for something scary.
“We’re looking for some real scary stuff,” Kendrick Neely said. “That’s going to scare everyone. We’re bringing the goblins out.”
Top Dog spokesperson Sue Davis says there was a lot of planning done to make sure the stores had enough costumes to meet the demand this year.
“We still have plenty of products on the shelves,” Davis said. “We were anticipating a lot of problems so you order really early.”
Davis says her stores started ordering costumes right after last Halloween.
“I’ve been in different retail stores, they’re all out of their costumes and everything, so this is probably going to be the very last place you can find something,” Davis said.
KHOU 11 stopped by a few other retailers in the Houston area and found that to be true.
Some retailers have blamed supply chain breakdowns as a reason for fewer products on the shelves, including costumes and Halloween decorations.
Julie Roehm with Party City says the supply chain issues have impacted the entire retail industry.
"Had to jump through a lot of hoops,” Roehm said. “With creative ways of renting our own ships and crates and things. So we are thankfully in a really, really good position."
The shoppers KHOU 11 met with on Friday had costume ideas that didn’t seem too far out of reach.
Sue Davis says it’s back to the basics for trick-or-treaters this year.
She says we can expect to have lots of princesses and Spider-Men knocking on our doors.