The retailer is warning gift-givers to sort their festive presents ASAP this year, with the help of its new 300-page catalogue.
Smyths Toys Ireland is urging consumers to buy their Christmas gifts as early as possible this year, due to ongoing shipping disruption and container shortages.
Currently, retailers and brands are trying to bring their stock shipments forward to prepare for the last quarter of the calendar year, but are expecting shortages to hit well before Christmas, especially on new products.
A Smyths Toys Ireland spokeswoman said on Tuesday: “Smyths Toys advises you to shop early for Christmas. This is always a good idea so as to avoid the rush and to avoid disappointment. It is particularly important to shop early this year as global shipping and container shortages are causing supply issues in many parts of our lives.”
They added: “We encourage you to sign up to our catalogue now or drop instore from 24th September to pick up your free 300-page Smyths Toys catalogue. This will give you the time to make those key gift decisions.”
In recent weeks, The Entertainer’s Gary Grant has also been pushing the shop early message, telling The Guardian: “You will find that there won’t be toy shops with empty shelves, like there are supermarkets with empty shelves on a Saturday afternoon. But what you will find is that the range of toys available will shrink because we just won’t have the variety, as there will be so many items which are out of stock.”
The NPD Group, meanwhile, which recently reported a strong performance for the UK toy industry so far this year, is similarly braced for the impact of shortages – and is expecting online retail to play a large part in Christmas shopping.
“As the UK is now up and running almost as normal, the toy industry is wondering how and where consumers are going to buy toys in the last quarter of the year,” said Frédérique Tutt, global industry expert, Toys – The NPD Group. “According to The NPD Group’s recent study, The Future of Toys, the majority of British consumers intend to buy as much online in the next 12 months as they have in the last year.”
