Some consumers say they're spending more for Halloween
As published on page one of the Oct. 28, 2011 edition of The Keene Sentinel, and online.
The economy may be offering more tricks than treats lately, but that isn't stopping some Monadnock Region residents from investing in a little Halloween fun this year.
"Life stinks and I wanted to try to cheer it up," Patti P. Monroe of Keene said outside the iParty store at the Monadnock Marketplace in Keene this week.
"I needed something to lift my spirits, and what better time to do it than Halloween."
Monroe, 56, is handing out candy and dressing up for the first time this year -- she's going to be a pirate.
More Americans are expected to celebrate Halloween this year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, a trade association.
The group's survey of 9,374 consumers conducted over the second week in September found 68.6 percent of Americans -- almost seven in 10 -- plan to celebrate Halloween, up from 63.8 percent last year, and the most in the nine-year history of the survey.
Those celebrating are expected to spend slightly more, too, according to the survey; the average person will shell out $72.31 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $66.28 last year.
"I don't feel better about the economy, but it's a good night to go out and kind of forget about things," Ashlee Nicholson of Swanzey said.
The 25-year-old physical education teacher at Winchester School has a "baseball girl" costume for this year (it's pink), and admitted she's spending a little more on Halloween than she did in 2010, with about $50 invested in her costume, candy for trick-or-treaters and a few decorations.
Erica Burnett of Hinsdale estimated her family is spending between $75 and $100 this year.
Burnett and her husband will be "dressed as parents," she said, but 8-year-old Trent is going trick-or-treating as a bloody skeleton and his 6-year-old brother Connor will be a zombie.
Their yard will be decorated with some new tombstones, and there are seasonal pictures in the window.
"I like Halloween, and I try every year to get a little more," Burnett said.
She also thinks her spending is up this year, she said. "More things are more expensive."
By mid-week, sales of Halloween costumes and candy were picking up at the Keene Target, after a pre-Pumpkin Festival rush on pumpkin carving kits, according to Kyla Guidoboni, executive team leader at the store. Sales of decorations have been steady since they hit the shelves on Sept. 11, she said.
But not everyone is splurging.
Bonnie L. Kyle, 25, of North Walpole kept her spending in check this year, in an effort to save money. For a costume, she bought a new pair of slippers she plans to wear with her favorite pajamas. Last year she dressed as a prom queen.
And not all retailers are feeling the bump from the spending. At Costume Ladies in Walpole, business is down 10 percent from this time last year, according to Lynne Rollins-Kinnier, who works at the store every October.
"We're seeing a lot of people come in here who used to come in for a whole costume including accessories, and instead they're just buying accessories," she said.
And even the Halloween spenders are setting limits. Monroe, the pirate-to-be dressing up for the first time this year, drew the line at buying decorations for her house.
"That seems a little overboard," she said, "and money is tight."
tagged with: business, consumer spending, halloween
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