KENNEWICK, Wash. – If Halloween spending is an indicator of the economy, Americans are appear to be feeling better than this time last year -- or at least more ghoulish.
A new survey commissioned by the National Retail Federation found that seven of 10 Americans will celebrate Halloween this year. And they’re spending more says spokeswoman Kathy Grannis.
![Twenty-four-year-old Brian Williams and 22-year-old Jennifer Reed of Kennewick say they spent about $200 this year on Halloween costumes, decorations and candy. Photo by Anna King](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/dfe6d32/2147483647/strip/true/resize/880x^/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnetworks.prx.org%2Fpub%2Fitem_image_file%2F40167%2Fnprapi%2Fb33a615b6dbc3566dff87f8dac95361c%2Foriginal.jpg)
“The average person is expected to spend about $79 on Halloween decorations, costumes and candy.”
Up from $72 last year. Those numbers are fueled by consumers like 24-year-old Brian Williams and 22-year-old Jennifer Reed.
Williams and Reed were walking out of Halloween City in Kennewick with a giant black spider, tombstones and a fog machine for their zombie at home.
“I’ve always loved Halloween ever since I was little," Reed says. "I've always done a display outside my parent’s house and each year I try to make it a little bit better.”
This year’s ghoulish delights cost the couple about $200.
On the Web:
Halloween spending report (National Retail Federation)
Copyright 2012 Northwest Public Radio
Copyright 2012 Northwest News Network