Halloween spending up, a survey shows

Retailers see growth in costume rentals, candy sales.

Nancy Rogers is the owner of Yesterday's Inc., Ladies Consignment & Costume Rentals in Middletown. She has available for rent over 300 costumes ranging from $25 to $75.

Staff photo by Samantha Grier Nancy Rogers is the owner of Yesterday's Inc., Ladies Consignment & Costume Rentals in Middletown. She has available for rent over 300 costumes ranging from $25 to $75.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Nancy Rogers is the owner of Yesterday's Inc., Ladies Consignment & Costume Rentals. She has available for rent more than 300 costumes ranging from $25 to $75.

Staff photo by Samantha Grier. Nancy Rogers is the owner of Yesterday's Inc., Ladies Consignment & Costume Rentals. She has available for rent more than 300 costumes ranging from $25 to $75.

ENLARGE PHOTO

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By Eric Schwartzberg, Staff Writer Updated 11:07 AM Monday, October 31, 2011

BUTLER COUNTY — Halloween is “scaring up” more business than in previous years, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Foundation.

Area retailers like Yesterday’s at 3246 Dixie Highway in Middletown, which rents costumes all year long, are seeing a surge in the holiday’s popularity.

Nancy Rogers, the store’s owner, said the past decade has seen tremendous growth in costume rentals at the 29-year-old business.

“A lot of people are dressing up because there’s money involved, as far as a contest going, and people are doing things for their kids or their grandkids, and they’re wanting to dress up,” Rogers said. “People also are coming in for costumes to wear to work.”

This year, more people are calling and coming in to check out the shop’s selection of more than 300 high-end, theater-quality costumes available for rent from $25 to $75.

“People are looking for something fun to do,” Rogers said.

That’s a trend echoed nationwide. Halloween, once relegated to trick-or-treating and a party for elementary school students, is no longer child’s play.

The average person will shell out $72.31 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $66.28 last year. Total Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.86 billion, according to a Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey conducted last month by BIGresearch on behalf of the National Retail Federation.

In addition, 68.6 percent — or seven in 10 consumers — plan to celebrate Halloween, up from 63.8 percent last year and the most in the nine years NRF has been conducting the survey.

Halloween’s increased popularity means expansion plans for at least one haunted theme park in Butler County.

Organizers of the popular Land of Illusion Haunted Scream Park in Middletown already are touting future growth on Facebook, promoting a 2012 season planned to include “rides, a bigger screen at Club Zombie, season passes AND a longer season.”

NRF President and CEO Matthew Shaw said the holiday appeals to those “eager to shake off the summer heat and forget about the economy for a few days.”

“Americans are looking forward to having some fun this Halloween,” Shaw said. “Many retailers have already stocked their shelves with Halloween merchandise and, given the popularity of the holiday this year, consumers should not hesitate when they find something that would make their celebration complete.”

With Halloween parties on the rise, spending is expected to increase accordingly, as well. The average consumer is projected to spend $26.52 on costumes. The holiday will see Americans spend $1 billion on children’s costumes, up from $840 million last year, and $1.21 billion on adult costumes, up from $990 million last year. Additionally, pet owners will shell out $310 million on costumes for their four-legged friends.

Halloween Headquarters, which offers more than 1,000 different style costumes, has been located in Fairfield Twp., Liberty Twp. and Monroe before coming to its new location this year at 8136 Princeton-Glendale Road in West Chester Twp.

Simon Ekelund, general manager for Halloween Headquarters, said business has been trending upward since the business started in 2006.

“Every year it gets more and more,” he said. “We may even see a better trend for this year than this year.”

The business, which opened in early September, plans to close shop for the year after Nov. 2. As such, Elklund said it is too early to predict where total sales are going to end up until the last-minute rush is over.

“I am optimistic,” he said. “The last few days my traffic has been heavy.”

Costumes aren’t the only area surging in sales. Decorations also are expected to do some frightful business, according to NRF.

Halloween by the numbers

Average amount people will spend on decorations, costumes and candy: $72.31 (2011) vs. $66.28 (2010)

Percentage of people who plan to dress in costume: 43.9 percent (2011) vs. 40.1 percent (2010)

Percentage of people who plan to visit a haunted house: 22.9 percent (2011) vs. 20.8 percent (2010)

Percentage of people who plan to throw or attend a party: 34.3 percent (2011) vs. 33.3 percent (2010)

Source: National Retail Federation, BIGresearch

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