Sep 24, 2007

Spooky SalesBy Casandra AndrewsAL.com

Pumpkin patches may not materialize for another few weeks along the Gulf Coast, but that hasn’t kept local shoppers from stocking up on all things orange and black since mid-summer.

Larry A. Heard, manager of Robert Moore & Co. in Mobile, said nearly 40 percent of their Halloween merchandise has been purchased by customers looking to deck out their homes and yards before the air turns cooler.

Halloween has expanded its reach in recent years, stretching from a one-day give-me-candy-or-else feast to a monthlong celebration of everything creepy and cute. A national survey conducted in late September of 2006 found that consumers were expected to spend almost $5 billion nationally last year on decorating, candy and costumes.

That number doesn’t surprise Heard, who said Robert Moore & Co. saw about a half million in sales solely for Halloween staples last year. While Robert Moore might be known as the largest Christmas Village around, the gift and holiday shop features a line of Department 56 Halloween ornaments, plus Disney collectibles featuring Mickey among pumpkins and tomb stones.

One aisle in the Halls Mill Road store is dedicated to other Halloween-related merchandise, including colorful pumpkin-headed figurines, black cats, not-so-scary spiders and a wide selection of orange string lights.

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