Ohio Weekly News Recap: The Columbus Dispatch’s Top Headlines
Here are some stories you may have missed on Dispatch.com and in the print edition of the Columbus Dispatch.
There is still almost a month until the official start of autumn.
But Ohioans might disagree, as Halloween candy is already plentiful, pumpkin spice is appearing on cafe menus, and costume shops are opening in normally vacant retail spaces.
For years, fall and Halloween items have become available to consumers earlier and earlier, says Tasha Lewis, a professor of fashion and retail studies at Ohio State University. The earlier start of the spooky season is dubbed “Summerween” on social media.
Read more: How to spot spoiled candy and dangers when trick-or-treating on Halloween
“I think that’s true… Christmas used to be in July and now we have this,” Lewis said.
While the sales offensive with Halloween and fall items might annoy some customers, according to Lewis, there is a certain strategy behind it.
The longer fall and Halloween items sit on shelves, the more likely a store is to be able to increase its sales of those items, Lewis said. Plus, stores are now competing with online retailers like Amazon, where Halloween and fall decorations are available year-round, Lewis said.
Since the season is apparently just around the corner, here’s what’s already available for Halloween and fall.
How much do Americans spend on Halloween?
With fall and Halloween shopping already shifting into the summer, it should come as no surprise that spending on the spooky season has increased.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), shoppers were expected to spend a record $12.2 billion on the fall holidays last year, surpassing 2022 spending of $10.6 billion.
Of the $12.2 billion Americans spent in 2023, at least $4.1 billion was spent on costumes, $3.9 billion on decorations, $3.6 billion on candy and $500 million on greeting cards, according to the NRF.
The increase in Halloween spending is likely due in part to the fact that the holiday appears to be taking on “a kind of new status” in American culture, Lewis said.
“We may have only seen this at Christmas before, and now Halloween has taken on such a high priority,” Lewis said. “It’s the kind of holiday you have to plan for now.”
Which fall and Halloween items are already available in stores?
Coffee: Starbucks released its fall menu on Thursday, which includes the popular Pumpkin Spice Latte. Other Columbus-area cafes, like Chocolate Café, have also started offering their fall-themed drinks and dishes. For a full list of local cafes selling pumpkin spice everything this year, click here.
Exterior decorations: It may still be summer, but it’s not too early to start looking for decorations for your front yard or porch. Target released its Halloween collection in late July this year, including “Lewis the Pumpkin Ghoul.” Home Depot is also getting in the spooky spirit, selling its famous 12-foot-tall skeletons this year, among other decorations.
Costumes: Perennial pop-up store Spirit Halloween began opening its stores earlier this month. The chain plans to open 1,500 stores nationwide and will need to hire 50,000 employees to operate its outlets, according to the company. You can search for locations here.
Home decoration: Craft store Michaels introduced its Halloween collection in July of this year, 100 days before the holiday. The company released several Halloween collections this year, including Hippie Hallow, Midnight Moon, Haunted Forest and Hocus Pocus. Michaels is also selling a 10-foot tall Phantom and an 8-foot tall Skeleton this year.
@MaxFilby
