US retailers look for big returns on Halloween

Global Business

United States retailers apparently have nothing to be scared about this Halloween. New research finds that when all is said and done, Americans will have spent an estimated $7 billion. CCTV America’s Kevin White explains how Halloween compares to other retail spending celebrations.

US retailers look for big returns on Halloween

United States retailers apparently have nothing to be scared about this Halloween. New research finds that when all is said and done, Americans will have spent an estimated $7 billion. CCTV America's Kevin White explains how Halloween compares to other retail spending celebrations.

Halloween is no longer for the faint of heart. The century old celebration is now the second largest for U.S. retailers, trailing only Christmas.

The National Retail Federation expects each Halloween shopper to spend more than $77 that will add up to $7 billion, with nearly 40 percent spent on just costumes.

Kody Hadrick, a costume store manager, said, “Halloween has really been, I think, geared towards the adults lately. I’ve heard in the industry that a lot of Mom and Pop shops are actually getting rid of their children’s departments, because they can’t get the profit margin up. So they’ve really just kind of thrown that to the pop up shops, so that they can customize and specialize in adult costume making instead.”

An estimated 75 million adults will celebrate the festival, and it’s not just costumes that people are buying. Last year, chocolate sales, a Halloween staple, topped $217 million. So whether it’s dressing up, a trick-or-treat or decorations, retailers hope the trend of consumer spending will last straight through to 2015.

To find out more about Halloween chocolate marketing strategies, CCTV America talked with the senior editor of RetailMeNot, Trae Bodge.