party store
{{Short description|Retail store selling party supplies}}
{{About|specialist retailers selling party supplies|stores stocking everyday items, referred to in Michigan and some other parts of the United States as "party stores"|convenience store|the The Dirtbombs album|Party Store}}
File:Party City Midtown Miami.jpg
Specialist stores selling supplies for parties began developing in the late 1970s in the United States and rapidly expanded into the 1990s.{{cite news |last1=Larkin |first1=Patrick |title=Party Stores get Company |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-post-party-stores-get-com/157231045/ |access-date=16 October 2024 |work=The Cincinnati Post |date=17 July 1993 |pages=25 |via=Newspapers.com}} They can offer a wide variety of products, and will often stock seasonal items for holidays—such as Christmas or New Year.{{cite news |last1=Steele |first1=Jeffrey |title=These Stores Will Make You the Life of the Party |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chicago-tribune-these-stores-will-make-y/33620299/ |access-date=16 October 2024 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=12 December 1994 |pages=62 |via=Newspapers.com}} Commonly stocked merchandise may include:{{cite book |last1=Ingram |first1=Thomas |title=Sales Management: Analysis and Decision Making |date=27 March 2015 |page=71 |isbn=9781317511632 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r42sBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |accessdate=13 June 2019}}[http://partycity.com "Categories", Party City official website]
- Balloons and streamers
- Wrapping paper, greeting cards
- Cake decoration items
- Seasonal holiday items
- Candy and soft drinks{{cite news |last1=Perry |first1=Charles |title=Halloween Candy is so Sweet it's Scary |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesman-journal-halloween-candy-is-so/157231264/ |access-date=16 October 2024 |work=Statesman Journal |agency=Los Angeles Times |date=29 October 1999 |pages=29 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- Plates, utensils, cups (especially disposable ones for parties) and table decorations
In 2019 a global shortage of helium sharply reduced supply for helium-filled balloons, due to the US rationing helium because of a reduction in supply by 30% stemming from a Saudi-boycott of producer country Qatar, impacting party stores such as Party City, one of the reasons the company cited in closing 45 of its 870 stores.{{cite news |last1=Das |first1=RonnieM |url=https://www.wlns.com/news/national/the-party-is-over-for-over-45-of-the-nations-party-city-stores/ |accessdate=13 June 2019 |publisher=WLNS-TV |title=The party is over for over 45 of the nation's "Party City" stores|date=May 14, 2019}}{{cite news |last1=Khalaf |first1=Roula |title=Party City: volatile helium costs forces retailer to rethink its business |url=https://www.ft.com/content/520865c5-86f9-465b-9632-bd2a94a2e7d5 |access-date=16 October 2024 |work=Financial Times |date=26 January 2023}}