Halloween Hits Store Shelves
By: NBC News
Updated: September 28, 2011
The spooky holiday is more than a month away but Halloween-related merchandise is stacking up on store shelves.
Retailers are hoping good Halloween sales will be a sign of things to come for the holidays.
The National Retail Federation says consumers are obviously eager to have a frightfully good time this Halloween, with seven in 10 Americans planning to celebrate in some form of fashion this year, compared to six in 10 last year.
That means sales of decorations, candy and costumes should be up, especially with more adults getting in on the fun.
"There's just so many more occasions now to celebrate Halloween with office parties and neighborhood costume parades and trick-or-treating with your kids," says Party City "Spooksperson" Ressa Tomkiewicz.
The Halloween business is nearly a $7-billion industry, second in spending only to Christmas, and like Christmas, a chance for at least temporary employment.
Party City expects to add 14-thousand employees next month.
"There's actually a lot of opportunities for those employees to stay on after Halloween. So, a lot of the temporary jobs do turn into permanent positions," Tomkiewicz says.
A month out from the spooky occasion, some retailers have already experienced scary good Halloween sales.
"Our Halloween is actually selling very well. We're selling out of decor very quickly and they're coming in to get it," says Sam's Club store manager Bob Cutwright.
The average person is expected to shell out just over 72 dollars this Halloween, compared to just over 66 dollars last year.
Retailers are hoping good Halloween sales will be a sign of things to come for the holidays.
The National Retail Federation says consumers are obviously eager to have a frightfully good time this Halloween, with seven in 10 Americans planning to celebrate in some form of fashion this year, compared to six in 10 last year.
That means sales of decorations, candy and costumes should be up, especially with more adults getting in on the fun.
"There's just so many more occasions now to celebrate Halloween with office parties and neighborhood costume parades and trick-or-treating with your kids," says Party City "Spooksperson" Ressa Tomkiewicz.
The Halloween business is nearly a $7-billion industry, second in spending only to Christmas, and like Christmas, a chance for at least temporary employment.
Party City expects to add 14-thousand employees next month.
"There's actually a lot of opportunities for those employees to stay on after Halloween. So, a lot of the temporary jobs do turn into permanent positions," Tomkiewicz says.
A month out from the spooky occasion, some retailers have already experienced scary good Halloween sales.
"Our Halloween is actually selling very well. We're selling out of decor very quickly and they're coming in to get it," says Sam's Club store manager Bob Cutwright.
The average person is expected to shell out just over 72 dollars this Halloween, compared to just over 66 dollars last year.
