Higher Halloween prices spur more Long Islanders to create their own costumes

Maya Martin recently walked out of a Spirit Halloween in Bethpage armed with a package of fake mustaches to get ready for the holiday. 

"I’m going to be a musician from this band called Goose," the 22-year-old Massapequa resident said.

She normally buys new Halloween costumes, but this year, she bought most of her holiday getup from thrift stores because she found prices for new costumes to be too high.

"Probably my whole costume [cost] under $20 with thrifting," she said Thursday. 

Halloween is looking scarier this year for some retailers, as the rising prices of goods under tariffs, including costumes and  accessories, are spurring some consumers to get more creative to save money.

Most of the Halloween merchandise sold in the United States is imported from China, which has been subject to higher tariffs this year. Retailers are passing at least some of those costs to customers. 

Consumers are taking steps to cut costs, such as shopping earlier to take advantage of deals, using items from previous Halloweens or assembling their own costumes instead of buying packaged full getups from stores, retail experts said.

The Halloween & Costume Association, which represents businesses manufacturing, importing or distributing Halloween products, has observed significant cost pressures this holiday season due to higher tariffs and general inflation, Michele Boylstein, executive director of the Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based trade group, said in a statement.

"Our members report substantial cost increases that have been partially passed on to retailers. In many cases, retailers have absorbed some of these increases to remain competitive," she said.

The National Retail Federation found that 79% of survey respondents in September expected Halloween prices to be higher this year, but the share of people who planned to celebrate was still similar to last year — 73% versus 72%.  

Tariffs also have prompted retailers to make some changes.

Costume America, which opened in Farmingdale in 2010, sells retail costumes and accessories. It also runs a costume rental business, mostly for theater productions.

This year, the store bought fewer packaged full costumes for its retail business because vendors have increased their wholesale prices by 10% to 30% since 2024, said Jeff Avelar, a costumer/tailor at Costume America.

"So, as an alternative, we’ve been telling people to either try their best to build something with our accessories in our retail section, or just going [with] rentals within our theatrical rentals inventory," he said.

But younger customers are increasingly fans of do-it-yourself costumes anyway, so they are more often coming in the store just for accessories, such as prosthetic cuts and noses, masks, hats, wigs and props, he said.

Costume America has had to pass some of its higher wholesale expenses onto customers, but the store is careful not to exceed $60 on a packaged full costume, he said.

"There are some people who will pay for it, but some people don’t see the use of spending that much money on something that will be used once," Avelar said.

Costume America is the only costume rental business on Long Island, and it receives most of its revenue from that segment of business — providing garments for theater productions in schools and elsewhere, he said.

"If it wasn’t for theater, we might not be here," he said.

Pop-up chain Spirit Halloween, which is the largest Halloween retailer in the nation, and Spencer Gifts, which also sells products for the spooky holiday, are owned by Spencer Spirit Holdings Inc.

The Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey-based parent company declined an interview request for this article but emailed a statement from its chief operating officer, Steven Silverstein.

More than 90% of seasonal merchandise for Halloween and Christmas is imported from China, Silverstein said.

"As a result, the impact of tariffs on these products will be significant. Like many retailers, we are working hard to manage these challenges through a multipronged approach. We are taking a long-term perspective, while remaining focused on growth — and are proud to be on track to open over 1,500 Spirit Halloween locations this season," he said.

Trade group: Spending expected to rise

The U.S. government imposed a 20% tariff on imports from China in March and another 10% in April as part of reciprocal tariffs, said Alex Durante, senior economist at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank.

"A 100% additional tariff is scheduled for Nov. 1, although there are doubts this will actually go into effect," Durante said, since President Donald Trump is meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week.

Despite concerns about tariffs and inflation, Halloween spending is expected to rise to a record high this year, the National Retail Federation said.

This year, consumers’ Halloween-related spending is projected to hit a record $13.1 billion, an increase of 12.9% from the $11.6 billion in 2024 and up 7.3% from the record $12.2 billion in 2023, according to the Washington, D.C.-based trade group.

The numbers come from surveys — 8,045 people were polled last month for this year’s survey — about how much money consumers expect to spend. But the federation does not track how much money is actually spent on Halloween.

The most popular places for Halloween shopping will be discount stores, where 42% of survey respondents said they will shop, up from 37% last year, the federation's survey found. Tying for second place were Halloween/costume stores and online retailers, with 31% each.

The demographics of consumers shopping for nonnecessities like Halloween candy and costumes varies by household income brackets, one economist said.

Nationwide, Americans' discretionary spending is a "mixed bag" right now, with higher-income households doing well financially as home prices and the stock market rise, said Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody’s Analytics, headquartered in Manhattan.

On the other hand, he said, "lower-income households are struggling much more. ... We're concerned about the holiday season because it's going to be more difficult than usual," Hoyt said. Lower-income households will be focused more on buying necessities and avoiding potential price increases, he added.

Levittown resident Ryan Koabel bought a salami costume for himself at the Spirit Halloween in Bethpage on Thursday night.

The price, $36.99, was about $10 more than he spent for a similar costume last year, but it wasn’t enough to motivate him to choose a different option, said Koabel, 27.

"It was definitely more annoying with the increased prices. But I mean, it’s Halloween, you gotta spend to be festive," he said.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.