Halloween a treat for retailers

Halloween is one of those rare occasions to don your favourite fashion faux pas outfit without having the fashion police dictate the laws of style. Punters everywhere from London to Leicester dressed up on Saturday in elaborate costumes even the Fashion and Textile Museum could not compete with.

British retailers expected this year's Halloween to be their best ever as families go shopping for party accessories and dressing-up outfits.

Halloween sales have been building over the past decade as more and more Britons mark October 31, long celebrated in the US. But sales this year are also set to be boosted by Halloween falling on a Saturday, and at the end of many

“Halloween has got its own growth momentum because it has become a really big event,” Bryan Roberts, global retail research manager at Planet Retail, told the Financial Times. “I think the timing of it this year is particularly fortuitous for retailers.” Planet Retail forecasts record spending of £235m on the occasion this year, up from £195m in 2008.