Getting in the Spirit of Holloween

Halloween spirit is in the air and is fast approaching. Many of us are planning to have a Halloween party and surely, we need Halloween costumes and other accessories.

We will getting to know the spirit of Halloween in regard to sales and marketing based from National Retail Federation survey.

Halloween falls on a Saturday this year and a lot of local merchants are positive enough this Halloween season despite cautious forecasts for retail sales nationwide.

Shoppers will spend an average of $56.31 on the occasion, down from $66.54 last year according to the annual Halloween survey of the National Retail Federation.

Richard Beacham who manages nine north metro Spirit Halloween Superstore locations, including one at Lakeland Plaza in Cumming are not frightened about the economic recession.

Indeed, slow steady growth as soon as possible.

“While the cash registers at some places seem kind of slow, we are excited,” Beacham said. “We will probably have a late sales push just before Halloween.”
“I’m seeing people being more creative and thinking about how to put everything together on a budget so that they come in with a budget in mind,” he said. “I think more people will do Halloween because it is on a weekend.”

Also Steve Reid, manager of the Cumming SuperTarget on Market Place Boulevard, said anytime Halloween falls on “a night where school does not follow the next day, it seems to have a larger participation rate.”

“We have seen a lot more requests for party supplies,” he said. “I would think people are going to have … larger Halloween parties.”
The two major Halloween accessory retailers, Reid and Beacham once said “popular costumes this year include heroes from recent movies, including “Star Wars,” and comic book characters like Batman and G.I. Joe.”

Traditional costumes like princesses, witches, ghosts and goblins continue to be fan favorites. For candy options, Reid said “chocolate is always going to be king,” though trick-or-treat bags may sport some alternatives this year.

“One of the items we’re seeing guests buy along with the candy are those less traditional things like goldfish, pretzels or potato chips in small bags, and they’re handing those out as well as candy,” he said. “I think people are just trying to … have a variety of candy, rather than just the standard.”