Copyright Star Tribune
The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts 76% of Americans will spend $13.1 billion to celebrate this Halloween. That’s $1.5 billion more than last year. Over the years, “spending has grown along with Halloween’s popularity,” said Katherine Cullen, consumer insights vice president for NRF. “Instead of a single day, Halloween has really evolved into an entire season of its own.” Events such as the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley are stretching the Halloween season from a day to weeks, according to National Retail Federation. (Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Sales forecasts are up in nearly all categories from costumes and decorations to candy. It’s also higher for events like haunted houses, corn mazes, Valleyfair amusement park’s ValleyScare in Shakopee and the Minnesota Zoo’s Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular in Apple Valley. Ernie Goss, director of the Institute for Economic Inquiry at Creighton University, said Halloween spending is not strong across the board, but it is in wealthier pockets across the country. Lower-income communities, he said, are not seeing the same surge in spending. Candy sales boost factory sales But when you add it up, the NRF estimates Americans still will shell out $3.9 billion for candy and $4.3 billion on costumes. After a sleepy back-to-school September, the business is welcome, Kenevan said. With Halloween on a Friday this year, Kenevan said Can Can is hoping this weekend kicks off more than a week of increased traffic. Pinball and animatronics engineer Jon Graff, aka Jonny Pinball, finishes installing the sensor-activated Bone Jett band of animatronic skeletons, just in time for Halloween, at Can Can Wonderland in St. Paul. (Dee DePass/The Minnesota Star Tribune) Jon Graff, who maintains all the games at Can Can and spent six hours wiring and installing the animatronic Bone Jett band to play AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell,” said he expects 1,500 patrons to show up Oct. 31. As soon as the electronics were operating Oct. 19, teenagers lined up for their turn with the skeleton rockers. “Everybody loves Halloween,” Graff said. “We haven’t slowed down, so [crowds] will probably be better than last year.”
