Retail
stores are pulling out the black and orange Halloween
decorations as early as mid-August in some areas. Why
have stores begun to put such a focus on this minor children's
holiday?
Because
Halloween is not just for kids anymore.
A
recent National Retail Federation survey found that 82 percent
of children plan to dress up to attend parties or to go trick-or-treating.
That comes as no surprise.
That
about 75 percent of adults also plan to participate in a Halloween
activity may be news to you, but
it does explain some of the fuss over the spooky celebration.
It hasn't always been an adult celebration. Over the last two decades, Halloween
has become a more adult-oriented holiday, and the sales figures show it says
James Lowry, a Ball State University retail marketing expert.
Grownups
may have started dressing in costumes to keep their little ones
safe, but the trend caught on and gets bigger every year. Buying Halloween
costumes and decorations fuel sales that amounted to more
than $6 billion according to several retail organizations, with the most spent by adult millennials.
Who's having more fun?
Adults have increased sales of costumes, candy, lawn decorations
and other scary merchandise. Decorating stores with ghosts, goblins,
witches and pumpkins as early as August is a blatant attempt to
get the jump on the competition. It seems to be working.
Universal
Studios in Hollywood and Knott's
Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA both host adults-only horror
haunting nights. The
only time of year that generates more adult parties is New Year's
Eve.