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Don’t let Halloween costs frighten you. There are ways to save on decor, costumes.
NEW YORK — Shopping for Halloween costumes doesn’t have to be scary.
This year, shoppers can find more ways to save time and money. Discounters like Walmart and Target are expanding their costume offerings and creating designated sections where customers can find more of their Halloween needs in one place. And for the first time, Party City is offering an assortment of Halloween costumes on Amazon. Party City and others are either revamping their apps or launching new ones to make shopping easier.
And of course, pop-up shop pioneer Spirit Halloween, the largest Halloween store franchise, is a reliable option. It now has about 1,400 temporary locations in the U.S. and Canada, with more of a presence in the malls.
Meanwhile, crafts chain Jo-Ann Stores Inc., is now catering to procrastinators with a bigger assortment of ready-made costumes.
“More retailers are getting into the game,” said Marshal Cohen, chief industry adviser at NPD Group, a market research firm. “Stores are creating broader assortments. And you can get an instant costume from start to finish.”
Halloween costumes are a big business for retailers. Americans are expected to spend $9 billion on Halloween, slightly down from the $9.1 billion spent last year, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation, the nation’s largest retail trade group. The 2018 spending estimate includes $3.2 billion on costumes, according to the survey. Goodwill says Halloween is its biggest season in terms of sales.