Americans Are Expected to Spend $9 Billion on Halloween This Year

HATTIESBURG, MISS: According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans will spend approximately $9 billion celebrating Halloween, and local businesses are looking to cash in.

“Business has been very good for us,” the store manager for Spirit Halloween, LaKeisha Washington said.

The term “very good” could be viewed as an understatement, as stores like Spirit Halloween are set to make a huge profit with Americans projected to spend $3.2 billion on customs. However, Spirit Halloween also plans to use the holiday as an opportunity to raise money for a charity. “We’ve been big on our Spirit of Children donation,” Washington said. “Last year, we gave almost five-thousand dollars to Blair Batson Children’s Hospital.” This year the store plans to give another $5,000 to different children’s hospital in New Orleans, LA. The Hattiesburg Zoo is another business looking to capitalize on the holiday. The money generated from the Zoo’s “ZooBoo” event helps take care of the animals and begins the start of a new fiscal year. “It’s the start of our fiscal year, but it’s right before we head into the winter months,” Executive Director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission, Rick Taylor said. “We have lower attendance in the winter, so it’s very important for that ZooBoo and ZooLights have a good attendance. It carries us through the winter and leads us into the next year, and helps us grow.” Zoo officials mentioned they did see a rise their attendance at this year’s ZooBoo. According to this year’s the survey, the NRF expects the average American to spend a total of $86.79 with more than 175 million Americans participating in the holiday. This year’s projection of $9 billion comes as the second highest projection in the survey’s 14-year history.