ORLANDO, Fla. -- Juan Martinez picked out a devil mask as he got ready for his first fully normal Halloween since a real-life horror show — the coronavirus pandemic — hit more than two years ago.
“My kids love going out from house to house to look for candy,” Martinez said. “The first year [of the pandemic], nobody celebrated, nobody went out and then after that it was just a little bit, not that many people, but now, I think we’re back to normal.”
Martinez, 44, of Crestview, bought his mask at the Goodwill store on Orange Blossom Trail near Florida Mall. He plans to wear it while handing out candy. He also had some pumpkin decorations in his shopping cart for his family’s home.
Halloween is expected to get back to where it was before the pandemic, with 69% of shoppers expected to celebrate, up from 65% in 2021 and 68% in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey done by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
That means a record $10.6 billion in spending is anticipated for the haunted holiday, up from $10.1 billion last year, according to the NRF.
“As consumers continue to return to pre-pandemic behaviors, retailers are prepared to meet that demand and help make this holiday a fun and memorable one,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release.
Shoppers plan to spend an average of $100 on candy, décor, cards and costumes, the second highest in the survey’s history behind last year’s $103. Sixty seven percent of consumers plan to give out candy, 51% will decorate their home or yard and 47% will wear a costume, the NRF said.
Goodwill Industries of Central Florida’s 31 stores have been busy with people getting into the holiday spirit.
“Halloween has been extremely busy this year and early. People started shopping in August this year for Halloween,” said Kim Praniewicz, vice president of marketing and communications for Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. “While kids were going back to school, people were looking for costumes already.”
Praniewicz said there is pent up demand from people who have not been able to fully celebrate during the pandemic. While decorations were popular among early shoppers, the stores are now in costume season.
Early shopping for Halloween took place nationally, with the NRF saying 47% of shoppers were starting in September or earlier.
Buying costumes or decorations at a discount, such as at Goodwill, is also popular, with the NRF saying 40% of shoppers were expected to buy their Halloween items at a discount store.
Martinez, whose devil mask was priced at $5, agreed.
“It’s a once a year occasion, and I don’t want to spend that much money on something that you’re going to wear once a year,” he said.
Beyond the lower costs at Goodwill, the store also helps save items from ending up in the landfill, and it’s a good spot for those who want to go with do-it-yourself costumes, said Praniewicz.
“Halloween isn’t worn that often so sometimes people will be tempted to throw it away,” she said. “But they know if they donate it here, someone else can use it because their child outgrew it and they’re not used very hard or anything like that.”
She added Goodwill has costume coordinators who work at their stores, generally on the weekends when costume business is the busiest.
Another thrift shopper, Patience Armbruster, 45, was at the Goodwill looking through costumes for her 4-year-old granddaughter and 2-year-old grandson.
“She wants to be a pirate, but I know she likes princess stuff, and he’s 2, so whatever I can find,” Armbruster said.
The prices were also a big deal for Armbruster, who was in Orlando from White Springs, Florida, for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios.
“This princess dress, let’s say normally you’re going to pay $30 for this, and here it’s $10,” she said. “You can’t beat that. I can buy three costumes for the price of one.”
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