INDIANAPOLIS — The cost of Halloween is biting into family budgets this year, and retailers on the city’s south side say a mix of inflation, tariffs and supply problems are driving prices higher.
“Welcome to Lynn's where everybody wins,” a clerk called as customers filed into Lynn’s Halloween Town, a small shop stocked with costumes, decorations and party supplies.
Inside the store, owner Summer Webber said she’s absorbed some price increases, trimmed sticker prices and added promotions to help shoppers.
“We know times are hard,” Webber said.
Webber also brought a prize wheel to the checkout counter, hoping the chance to spin would take a little fright off the price. She said past buying items helped this season.
“The last few years I have over-ordered, so it's kind of like that was a good thing because this year the costumes were expensive, accessories, everything!”
Still, shoppers nationwide are likely to pay more. According to the Halloween and Costume Association, nearly 90% of Halloween products — including decorations and costumes — have at least one part made overseas, with most components coming from China. Tariffs and shipping costs have pushed retail prices upward.
Candy costs are rising, too. Supply chain expert Pawan Joshi said chocolate prices are being driven higher by cocoa shortages in West Africa.
“Rainfall has been lower, there's also been a disease that's been going through the crop. Just to give you a context, West Africa produces about 60-70% of the world's cocoa supply,” Joshi said.
Research from financial services firm Empower shows candy prices are 8% higher than last year and up 20% from three years ago, a jump that helps explain why retailers are rolling out deals and promotions.
Webber said her goal is to keep costumes within reach.
“We want everyone to get the costumes they want, not the ones they have to get because it's cheaper. Growing up, my family wasn't a big Halloween lover; we weren't able to really afford costumes like that,” she said.
Despite local efforts to soften the blow, the National Retail Federation expects U.S. consumers to spend a record $13.1 billion on Halloween this year, up from the $11.6 billion reported last year.
At Lynn’s, balloons were being inflated by a clerk, aisles were stocked with masks and props, and signs advertised “scary good deals” — small gestures some retailers say could make a difference for families watching their wallets this October.
