Peanut butter. Paper towels. Halloween costumes. Cars. The world is experiencing shortages that have already scared shoppers from all over the world to begin their Christmas shopping.

But you may be wondering- how did this happen? Like many things, the pandemic has once again disrupted our lives. On a large scale, it has interrupted the global supply chain. To put it broadly, there are disruptions in manufacturing, shipping, labor and transportation. This all leads to shortages in the products we use every day and longer time to get what we need.

Additionally, because there aren’t a large amount of products available, prices have soared.

With the holiday season quickly approaching, shoppers have been warned. They have been encouraged to start shopping earlier than normal, mainly due to three reasons:

1. Shopping early allows room to still look for deals, while waiting until the last minute would ensure higher prices.

2. If there is something specific that you are looking for, buy it while it is still in stock because you never know if it will come back once it sells out.

3. It will make sure that you will get your products on time, before Christmas. Shipping delays are also very common, so don’t expect something ordered on Black Friday to be on your doorstep by Christmas.

According to a survey conducted by Morning Consult in the first week of October, about 50% of United States shoppers have gotten an early start on holiday shopping.

If you are not a part of this group, you might want to consider beginning your shopping now, to be sure that you will get all the products you want at a fair price in time for Christmas.