Rising prices for Halloween not stopping the deals

(ABC 6 News) – This Halloween, expect to see higher prices. However, it’s not all bad news as there are ways to get deals.

Consumer analysts said there are sales going on, but if you wait closer to the actual holiday, you could see up to 70% off.

If there is a specific item like a certain costume, you should wait, but keep in mind you’re taking a gamble because there’s a chance it could sell out.

“If you’re flexible, or you’re keeping things simple, you can probably wait until the week of Halloween if not down right to the last minute to grab things like costumes. Candy, you should also be pretty safe on,” said Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst with dealnews.com. “There’s going to be some shelves that are probably a little bare if you wait until Halloween to do your candy shopping.”

Speaking of candy, if there isn’t any on the shelf, think outside the box. Ramhold said most of the time it’s just the Halloween packaging that is out of stock. There are other options like going to Costco or buying the generic packaging in the normal candy aisle.

Halloween Express in Rochester said inflation isn’t having much of an impact on sales.

Katie Resch says people are excited about getting back to normal, and having fewer restrictions. So far, there hasn’t been a big, noticeable change in sales because of inflation. That doesn’t mean Halloween Express isn’t trying to get people in the doors.

“We offer a reward since we are locally owned. You get $2 back for every $20 that you spend. And when you sign up with rewards, we also send a coupon out to your house too,” said Resch.

What about Thanksgiving and Christmas? Could we see similar shopping trends?

“After two years of a pandemic, and having sort of an elongated season anyway to accommodate restrictions like on the number of people, and wearing masks, and things like that,” explained Ramhold.

“This year, a lot of it seems to be that they’re saying it’s because of inflation, they’re giving shoppers more time to get that shopping done without having to do it all at once and possibly putting an extra strain on their budget.”

Ramhold also said if there is one thing you shouldn’t wait on, it’s decorations because once sold out, it’s probably gone for the year.