Candy corn, scary masks and costumes are all part of the Halloween tradition around the United States, but a growing recent trend has been the proliferation of pop-up Halloween stores.
Pop-up stores are generally describes as holiday-related stores that open in temporary locations like empty mall stores, then close right after the holiday.
Americans are expected to spend $8 billion on Halloween-related items, with $2.9 billion of that on costumes, according to Forbes. That number was up a whopping 12.2 percent from 2011, according to IBISWorld analyst Olivia Tang.
Editor's Note: Obama Donor Banned This Video But You Can Watch it Here
One explanation for the increase is fewer American are creating homemade costumes this year.
“Rising consumer sentiment and disposable incomes have allowed total spending on Halloween to increase every year since 2009, which was a massive 18.5 percent decline from 2008,” Tang told Forbes.
One company, Spirit Halloween has opened nearly 1,000 U.S. pop-up shops this year, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel. “In comparison to what it costs to establish a new building, putting in a pop-up is a much smaller investment for a retailer,” says Alison Paul, vice chairman and U.S. retail and distribution leader at Deloitte.
Vacancies in strip malls and indoor malls during the recession have been utilized for these pop-up shops, and general retailers such as Target have created their own version of the pop-up in their locations, often times as a loss leader to increase foot traffic in the store, according to Christina Norsig, CEO of PopUp Insider, a company that assists retailers in locating empty stores and finding staff once a lease is signed.
But don’t expect a store chock full of sales help. You will mostly need to pick through the bins to find the perfect costume and accessories.
“It is a different kind of shopping experience,” says Norsig, “Every parent that goes in wants to get out as soon as possible.”
Besides the increase in spending for humans, spending on Halloween costumes for pets is expected to hit a record $370 million this year, according to industry estimates.
USA Today reported outfits for pets are the costume industry’s fastest growing segment. The Nation Retail Federation said pet costume spending is up 20 percent this year over 2011.
“People just don’t skimp on their pets. They’ll cut corners on themselves, but not their pets,” said Michael Gatti, executive director of the organization’s marketing arm.
Editor's Note: Obama Donor Banned This Video But You Can Watch it Here
© 2013 Moneynews. All rights reserved.