It won't be long before home owners begin hanging Halloween-themed lights and decorations, signaling the start of another holiday season sure to boost retail sales in the coming weeks, says a Ball State University retail analyst.

Retailers have been draping their aisles with black cats, witches and candy for several weeks, if not months, in an effort to push shoppers into the Halloween mood, said James Lowry, who has been tracking retail marketing for nearly four decades.

"Every year retailers begin the Halloween shopping season a few days earlier," Lowry said. "It seems to be paying off this year as people are buying lawn decorations, candy and costumes for themselves and their children.

"I think we should see Halloween retail sales numbers increase slightly over last year," he said. "The economy is a little stronger, and people have discretionary income. Halloween has grown into the nation's second largest holiday. Only Christmas produces larger retail sales."

The National Retail Federation estimated the average consumer in 2003 spent about $41.77 on Halloween-related items, including $14.41 on candy, $14.85 on costumes and $10.37 on decorations. Total retail sales in 2003 surpassed $7 billion, up from $2.5 billion in 1997.

Consumers spent about $2 billion on candy last year, making Halloween the biggest season for sweets. And the $586 million spent on decorations makes Halloween second behind only the Christmas season.

Halloween has become the third largest party day right behind New Year's and Super Bowl Sunday.

"What really drives Halloween is the number of adults who buy costumes, decorate their homes and throw parties," Lowry said. "Over the last decade, Halloween has become an adult holiday while children have become secondary for many retailers. Adults want to relive that time when they could pretend to be a superhero or monster.

"I don't think we've hit the saturation point when it comes to putting up lights and decorating homes with all sorts of plastic creatures," he said. "It is pretty much like Christmas because every year new things come on the market. We all feel like we have to keep up with the neighbors when we decorate our homes. If they have it, we have to have it."

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Lowry at jlowry@bsu.edu (765) 285-5192.)