Local merchants banking on ‘treat’
from Friday’s Halloween activity
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| Washington and Lee students Eli Polanco, left, and Ellie Duvall play games with local kids at the Panhellenic Halloween Carnival. (JOEL POELHUIS / The Rockbridge Report) |
With Halloween around the corner, some Lexington residents are spooked by the current economic situation.
Lexington merchants, though, don’t seem scared.
“It’s a very lively time of the year for us,” said Al Hockaday, who owns the Shenandoah Attic gift store on Main Street.
On Halloween, Lexington streets swarm with children who trick-or-treat at most stores downtown, said Hockaday. And the parents and relatives of those children tend to do a lot of their shopping downtown. That will keep Lexington merchants afloat though the turbulent economy, Hockaday says.
“We’re having a good year in spite of the fact nationally it’s not going so well,” he said. “It’s very steady.”
Rob Huffman, owner of Totally Party on Route 11, expressed similar optimism about his party store and party rental service.
“My business is as good, as far as grossing, as it’s ever been,” Huffman said.
Because Halloween often falls around Washington and Lee University’s Parents’ Weekend, October is very “busy around here,” Huffman said. The economy has not affected the Washington and Lee community, he said, and the university’s parties will help his business.
While there has been some strain on his business, Huffman attributed it to the cost of goods and fuel rather than a decrease in customers. When the economy is down, he said, people tend to rent items instead of buy them, which boosts his party rentals. Halloween is a good thing for both his business and the consumer.
For some Lexington residents, though, this Halloween is a little scarier than in past years. Lawren Smith, a mother of two, said her family did not spend as much on Halloween this year.
“I didn’t buy any costumes,” said Smith. “I actually made everything or used what we had from previous years.”
Smith said the economic situation is heavily affecting her other spending habits. With the economy in mind, her family has cut back on leisure activities, like going to the movies.
“I’m nervous for it [the economy], like everybody else,” she said.
Halloween is not the only holiday the Smiths are skimping on. Smith said if the economy does not improve, her family’s Christmas spending will be cut drastically as well.
A report by the National Retail Federation forecasts positive retail sales for this year’s Halloween season. The federation estimates that consumers will spend a total of $5.77 billion, up 12 percent from 2007.
A survey of consumer intentions and actions found that more people plan to celebrate Halloween, up 5.8 percent from last year. The survey also found that people will spend more this year, from an average of $64.82 per person to $66.54.
After months of depressing news about the economy, many Americans are looking to escape their everyday problems, the report concluded.
Huffman, the owner of Totally Party, agrees.
“[Halloween] gives everybody … a break from reality,” he said. It lets people “be somebody different for a day.”
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Pamela Luecke
Reporting Supervisors:
Prof. Doug Cumming
Prof. Indira Somani
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd