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Scare tactics pay off

A large orange sign with big black letters spelling Halloween prompted Kelly Warren to pull over and check out what the store was offering.

"Halloween is my favorite holiday," said the Arlington Heights resident while holding his 1-year-old daughter and pointing to the big inflatable skeleton snow globe in front of Card & Party Warehouse Halloween store on Golf Road.

"It's a blast," he said of the holiday, adding that his home sees more orange and black decorations than red and green during the holidays. Halloween has become the second most decorated holiday after Christmas.

"It's an extremely popular time of year to decorate for," said Bill Hallihan, an employee at Halloween Warehouse, a division of Card & Party Warehouse.

In an effort to get shoppers in the Halloween spirit and gain a piece of spending pie, more and more stores selling costumes and decorations are popping up in vacant storefronts for the two months leading up to Halloween. Spirit Halloween, a division of Spencer Gifts, is the biggest of the chains with 540 temporary stores nationwide.

The day formerly known as All Hallows Eve has become a huge selling bonanza, with stores rolling out merchandise as soon as Labor Day ends. Target, Wal-Mart and even Walgreens have isles devoted to Halloween attire.

Halloween spending is expected to reach $5.07 billion this year with the average person planing to spend $64.82 on the holiday compared to $59.06 one year ago, according to the National Retail Federation.

Retailers might need Halloween more than ever this year. A soft back-to-school shopping season and consumers rattled by a weakening housing market and other financial pressures has retailers worried.

"Halloween should give retailers a nice boost in sales as they open the crucial fourth quarter," said Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation.

According to the survey, average spending will increase in all categories, including candy ($19.84,) decorations ($17.73) and greeting cards ($3.92).

Many Halloween retailers are reporting that decorations have been a big part of the buying trend so far this season. Shoppers are just starting to shop for costumes.

Princesses are the top pick for girls so far while pirates and Spider-Man are hot for little boys.

Penguins are also hard to keep on many store shelves. "We're sold out of penguins. We'll get more in next week," Hallihan said.

And don't forget your furry friends. An estimated one in 10 celebrants, or 7.4 million households, plan on donning their beloved pet in some sort of costume, according to the retail federation. Devils, pumpkins, witches, princesses and angels are the top five picks for pets.

Scaring up sales

Halloween spending per person, by year

2007 $64.82

2006 $50.06

2005 $48.48

2004 $43.57

2003 $41.77

Source: National Retail Federation

Spirit Halloween in Palatine is one of the 540 temporary, seasonal stores Spencer Gifts is opening nationwide this Halloween season. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer
Employee Steve Menke of Arlington Heights sets up a display at Spirit Halloween in Palatine. Joe Lewnard | Staff Photographer
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