Do you feel the spirit?

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One thing can be said for certain about American consumers: they sure do love to spend money on Halloween.

Despite economic troubles at home and abroad, the nation’s largest retail association estimates the average consumer will spend more money this Halloween than in the previous nine years — more than $70 per person.

However, that same study released by the National Retail Federation says 32.1 percent of respondents’ spending plans will be altered by the economy, with 87.1 percent of those individuals planning to spend less than in the past.

Playing dress-up

When asked about this year’s sales, Elaine Bard, store manager for Spirit Halloween in Bangor for the past three years, said “this year has been slower than last year” before correcting herself to say “people are leaving more to the last minute.”

“You find in the beginning of the season, the hardcore Halloween people come in,” to have their pick of the best decorations, Bard said. “This week, it’s all college kids because they leave it to the last minute.”

Bard’s conclusions, while indicative of the local market, are in a somewhat different category than the rest of the country. Out of more than 1,000 stores nationwide flying the Spirit Halloween banner, her location placed in the top 50 in terms of sales, and the South Portland outlet landed in the top 10.

That distinction comes after a significant effort. Bard said she began her preparations for the season a full five weeks before even hiring her staff, with an additional two weeks spent just stocking the store displays.

“We’ve built a store within a store,” she said, referencing the themed partitions blocking off a good portion of the former Circuit City building’s space.

A good portion of Bard’s store-within-a-store formula is filled with displays of holiday-specific decorations. Upon entering the store through a black, faux-stone archway, one is greeted by a rotating swing filled with zombie babies, some of which can be activated by a set of large “Try Me” buttons. Other displays have full-size animatronics featuring familiar characters like Frankenstein’s monster or Regan from the Exorcist, whose head spins a full 360 degrees.

Those decorations, aside from making for a more interesting shopping experience, account for around half of the sales in terms of dollars made at the Spirit store, according to Bard. In fact, the top three selling items at that store so far this season have all been props: the jumping spider at number one, the creepy caretaker in second and the lurching vampire bringing up the rear.

Buying a costume from the Spirit store does stand to interfere with the priorities of the spending-conscious, however. A quick perusal of the store’s offerings reveals an average price of $50 for a complete prepackaged costume and masks in excess of $20. According to the NRF survey, the average American only plans to spend a total of $40.81 on all costumes, a figure that includes both children’s and pet ensembles.

Speaking with Michelle Smith, communications manager for Goodwill Industries of Northern New England, might shed some light on one way that consumers are trying to find savings. Since 2008, Smith said sales at the stores in her area have risen across the board, with Halloween purchases playing a crucial role.

“Halloween is our busiest time of the year, without a doubt,” Smith said. “I think it’s much more affordable for people to go to Goodwill and put together a costume for $10 than to buy a prepackaged costume, which can be a lot more expensive.”

Despite the amount consumers could save from shopping for costumes at a thrift store, the process is more labor-intensive than purchasing a complete outfit. Whereas someone could walk over to Sheen’s Corner in the Spirit store to find the just the right bowling shirt, tiger-striped sunglasses and a “winning wig” to complete the look, those shopping at Goodwill might have to scour the bins to craft the perfect Charlie costume.

“It’s a different kind of experience than going through a department store,” Smith said. “You have to spend a little more time, you have to look, but it’s worth it.”

Of course, the increased foot traffic around Halloween also adds sales to Goodwill’s bottom line aside from costume purchases.

“People come in just for Halloween and, while they’re there, they see a dress or a pair of pants they’re going to buy for their everyday wardrobe, and they kind of get hooked,” Smith said.

Selling the sweet stuff

With more than one-third of Americans qualifying as obese, it should come as no surprise that the candy industry is booming. Census data from 2010 showed that Americans spent more than $16 billion on candy items excluding those qualifying as chewing gums, with an average annual consumption rate of roughly 24 pounds per person.

Looking at the NRF data, it is clear that Halloween is an integral part of those overall sales. This year’s estimate places the amount spent on Halloween candy sales at $2 billion, with an average of 95.5 percent of survey respondents saying they would buy candy for the holiday.

That is not to say, however, that all that candy will be redistributed to the masses of costumed children roaming streets nationwide. While nearly all respondents said they would purchase Halloween candy, only 73.5 percent of them plan to give it away to trick-or-treaters. What the other 22 percent will do with their holiday-inspired purchases is any dentist’s guess.

Just as the costume retail business requires considerable seasonal effort, stores that carry themed candies must plan far in advance.

Jeremy McIntyre, an assistant store manager at Bell’s Orono IGA for the past three-and-a-half years, said orders for treats carrying the seasonal wrappers must be placed at least a month in advance in order to ensure shipments arrive in a timely fashion.

McIntyre witnessed several changes in seasonal candy sales as the recession developed. The Orono grocer’s Halloween candy sales fell dramatically the year a Walmart Supercenter opened in Bangor, leaving the store with more stock than it could sell.

“With the economy and everything, people are trying to do it as cheaply as possible,” McIntyre said.

Next door to the IGA, the candy business has been booming at the University Mall Dollar Tree, where manager Dillon Morin said Halloween sales rank high among the various holidays.

“Halloween is one of our top three,” he said. “Candy really makes our sales.”

Part of Dollar Tree’s success lies in its in-store marketing techniques. Morin said it is common practice to place the best-sellers near the checkout lines in hopes of scoring a few impulse purchases.

Package sizing and labeling also play an important role, especially when combined with the notion that serious values are to be had at a dollar store.

“The big packages that we mark as, like, 25 percent more — those sell three times faster than a regular size,” Morin said. “We kind of play the whole psychological mind game thing.”

Wherever candy is purchased, both Morin and McIntyre said one thing is clear: this year, chocolate is king.

“It’s amazing how much money people will spend on chocolate,” Morin said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 27th, 2011, 1:24 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.