Chattanooga: Costumes snapped up despite ailing economy

Inside local costume shops, there are plenty of things to scare shoppers, but the economy apparently is not one of them.

“We were worried, honestly, about the whole economic state, but it honestly hasn’t been a problem,” said Liz Garrison, manager at Spirit Halloween on Gunbarrel Road.

Retailers say customers have flocked to costume stores like bats to a bell tower, buying masks of politicians, “Joker” face paint and classic get-ups such as witches, princesses and pirates.

“It’s like, ‘Well, if I’m going to be broke, I’m going to at least have fun with it,’” said Susan Stinger, manager at Beauty and the Beast Costumes in Red Bank, who claims flappers and gangsters have been hot sellers at her shops, thanks to a few local theme parties.

Business was slower than usual at the beginning of October, Ms. Stringer said, but as gas prices have fallen, sales have picked up.

Consumers are expected to spend more on Halloween this year than last, based on a National Retail Federation survey. Consumers planned to spend an average of $66.54 per person this witching season, up from $64.82 last year, the survey said.

The retail federation estimates consumers will spend a total of $5.77 billion on Halloween-related purchases, attributing part of the growth to an increase in parties thanks to a weekend Halloween.

“Halloween sales may be a bright spot for retailers this fall,” Tracy Mullin, president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a press statement. “Consumers — who have been anxious and uncertain for the past several months — may be looking at Halloween as an opportunity to forget the stresses of daily life and just have a little fun.”

Retailers at local shops agreed.

“I think Halloween is a way for people to escape and that’s why they’re willing to still spend money on it,” Ms. Garrison said. “It’s a day to forget everything and be someone else for a day.”

At Party City at Hamilton Place, the rack of politician masks is empty except for one George W. Bush and a solitary Bill Clinton, according to manager Dakota Brown.

“That’s after having every major political figure that’s in the news today sell out,” he said.