This is not the year for procrastinators.
If you are the type who like to save your Christmas shopping for December, when the Christmas lights are lit and Christmas FM is blaring from every shop radio, we got some grim news for you. This is not the year to hold off on your Christmas shopping until the last minute.
A mixture of COVID-19, Brexit and a lack of lorry drivers has led to several retailers warning of Christmas stock delays and shortages – and while this is explainable to adults, it will be harder to explain to the kids that Santa himself wasn’t able to get them they requested of him this year.
The solution? Start your shopping now – or as soon as possible.
The UK’s Toy Retailers’ Association has said while shelves will not be empty, there will be less choice than previous years.
‘The suppliers I speak to are working round the clock to get stock into stores, but it’s going to be fluid and it’s going to be changeable, said John Baulch, managing director at Toy World magazine to Manchester Evening News.
“I think what we’re going to find is that one week a store might not have a particular product in stock, then the following day or week there will be hundreds of them. So my advice to parents would be if your child wants a particular toy and you see it in stock somewhere grab it now, because there’s no guarantee it will be there the next time you look.”
These are the Christmas presents you might want to think about buying as soon as possible:
1. Bikes
There’s been a global shortage of bikes for quite a while now and it isn’t ending any time soon.
The severe disruption of the supply chain due to Covid, combined with a surge in demand during lockdown has meant the industry is still struggling to catch up.
In June, Halfords chief executive Graham Stapleton said despite tens of thousands of bikes arriving in stores every week, the firm could not promise full availability because some branded manufacturers could not keep up with demand.
2. Books
Lorry driver shortages are affecting deliveries for some of the UK’s biggest booksellers.
Waterstones, the UK’s biggest high street bookseller, said it had upped stocks of books by a quarter and ordered early to try to offset distribution problems.
3. L.O.L. Dolls, Paw Patrol, Barbie and Bluey
Barbie, L.O.L. dolls, Paw Patrol and Bluey are going to be in huge demand, toy experts have already predicted..
That’s a view backed up by Toy World managing director John Baulch, who added any toys that appear on the ‘top 10’ lists are bound to sell out quickly, and again, there is a supply issue, so you are better off acting quickly.
4. Clothing
Many retailers have warned of delivery delays and supply issues with clothing too.
Next has warned it may struggle to deliver its normal service in the run-up to Christmas unless the government relaxes post-Brexit immigration rules to allow more workers into the country.
5. Lego
Last year a ‘perfect storm’ of Brexit chaos and blockages at the ports led to shortages of some of the most popular Lego sets.
