The stock market slide has spooked plenty of Americans, but not enough to scare them away from shopping for the nation’s spookiest holiday.
In fact, two out of three Americans plan to celebrate Halloween, according to the National Retail Federation, the biggest turnout since the retail trade group began tracking the holiday in 2001.
Halloween arrives just in time to provide an escape from the grim headlines and ghastly economic upheaval. It is a pattern reminiscent of Halloween 2002, when consumers were in a funk tied to an economic downturn and the aftershocks of the Sept. 11 attacks, said Ellen Davis, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based trade group.
“The fact is that everybody needs a break,” Davis said.
While a relatively minor holiday based on retail dollars spent (it ranks No. 8 below Christmas, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, to name a few), the Halloween business has grown steadily for the past five years.
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Economic frights don’t kill Halloween plans | ajc.com.