Halloween costumes, decorations may be difficult to find in Chicago as supply chain problems persist

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Cathy Bunger, manager of Fantasy Costumes, said there's a big difference between this year's and last year's Halloweens.

"It seems much, much busier than it was last year, for sure," Bunger said.

Fantasy Costumes is a rare year-round costume shop in Chicago's Portage Park neighborhood. While the owner keeps extra stock, they ordered months early this year after realizing a disruption in the global supply chain.

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"A couple of our suppliers did give us dates in November, which obviously wouldn't work for us," Bunger said. "We haven't had to cancel that many, so we are fortunate in that part."

Maciek Nowak, interim dean of at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business, said some items may be more difficult to find partly due to supply chain disruptions. Customers are also getting a jump on buying Halloween products, added Nowak, who is also a supply chain professor.

"There's this cascade of problems that are creating all these problems," Nowak said. "You see things start to disappear and you say, 'alright, I need to get it now before it goes.' We've heard stories of people buying Halloween stuff back in the summer."

Things made with foam, including professional clown noses and some Halloween decorations, are among the globally hard-to-get items.

Bunger urges people every year to either shop for Halloween early or be prepared to get creative.