With Halloween only a week away, the countdown to this spooky day is rapidly winding down. As job losses and falling home values continue to compel consumers to reduce spending on non-essentials, a majority of consumers are planning to trim back their spending this holiday season. Interestingly, though, the economy has not spooked Americans to spend less on Halloween. This year, more Americans are dressing up, throwing parties and decorating their homes and front lawns as the urge to splurge overshadows broader economic troubles.
According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend $6.9 billion on Halloween this year, with an average of $72.31 per person spent on decorations, costumes and candy. That’s up from the $3.3 billion they planned to spend on the scary holiday in 2005. Spending is expected to go up across the board with more consumers dressing up, throwing or attending parties or visiting a haunted house this year.
Temporary and pop-up stores dedicated to Halloween merchandise are also increasing by an estimated 8 percent when compared to 2010, according to IBISWorld Inc. Halloween pop-up stores continue to spread across the country, taking up dead space vacated by defunct retailers, such as Borders and Circuit City. Halloween merchandise began appearing online as well as in stores like Walmart, Sears and Kmart before the school year began.
Ironically, even though the numbers say consumers are spending more, consumers want to think they’re spending less— the NRF reports that 32.1 percent say the economy has them scared, and of those, 87.1 percent are trying to spend less on Halloween. Consumers are exploring various interesting alternatives to save money without compromising on Halloween celebrations, such as renting their costume from a Web site or a local costume rental store rather than purchasing it new, borrowing a friend’s costume from prior years, making homemade costumes or exploring thrift stores.
As a non-gift holiday, even people on the strictest budget can enjoy themselves this Halloween. This is definitely a great opportunity for retailers and manufacturers to spike up their sales. Though most of consumers’ spending is captured by seasonal specialty stores, such as Spirit Halloween, all retailers try to get a share in their own unique ways. Creating Halloween displays by highlighting anything orange or black and products with ghost or monster themes attracts more foot traffic and thus sales. Many retailers start to stock products suitable for use as Halloween decorations, costumes, or foodstuffs. Some retailers are drumming up business by inviting customers to a costume party a few days before the big night and sponsoring a costume contest with one of their highest-valued products as the prize. Passing out candy in custom goodie bags branded with the store’s name, address, and Web site is an easy way for brand advertisement.
With a less-than-thrilling holiday shopping season on the horizon, retailers are pinning their hopes on a booming Halloween. It’s a light-hearted holiday and with all the stress and bad stuff going on in the world, it is a great way to forget your troubles and pretend to be someone else for a day. The spooky holiday is expected to generate record sales this year as consumers look for an escape from the gloomy financial news.
