BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — Halloween shopping is underway, and local shoppers are looking for ways to celebrate while staying within their budgets.
Sonja Talamantes, owner of Bakersfield Costumes, said business has been busy.
“I feel like it’s busier,” Talamantes said. “Yeah, I think people are more excited. They know if they wait till the last minute, there’s not a lot of things left and so they’re starting early.”
The store offers more new, used and vintage costumes.
“Some are new, some are used, some are vintage, and I try to price them as affordable as I can,” Talamantes said. “And still stay in business. So my prices are pretty good.”
Talamantes said she has noticed some shoppers choosing less expensive costumes.
“I do feel like people are like, ‘ok, wait, going for the cheaper version,’” she said.
Bakersfield resident Jennifer Brown said she plans to spend about $100 to $150 on costumes this year, although she may spend more because she wants to win a Halloween costume contest.
“I’ll probably spend more than $150, because I want to win the Halloween costume contest,” Brown said.
Brown said she came to Bakersfield Costumes because she heard the prices were affordable.
“That’s why I came here because I heard it was pretty cheap here,” Brown said.
In previous years, Brown said she typically shopped at Amazon or Party City, but decided not to shop there this year because of the cost.
“Yeah, no, too expensive,” Brown said. “Way too expensive.”
Talamantes said shoppers are also putting together costumes themselves.
“The adults are definitely using their imagination,” Talamantes said. “They have their ideas. They can Google anything…they come to the register and they have a lot of good ideas and all the pieces to go with it. But definitely more DIY.”
Richard Gearheart, a CSUB economics professor, said consumers are still spending, but are becoming more budget-conscious.
“People are more than willing and more than happy to spend even in an inflationary environment, but they’re budget conscious,” Gearheart said. “And they are much more willing to substitute more generic things for the name brand offerings.”
Gearheart said tariffs can also affect the cost of imported costumes.
“Tariffs absolutely have an impact since a lot of our Halloween costumes are imported from abroad,” he said.
Talamantes said some of the items she orders have become more expensive.
“Definitely things have gone up, like the makeup and things like that that I order,” she said.
A cute multiethnic group of young elementary age kids trick or treating for the Halloween holiday in their neighborhood. They wear assorted traditional costumes, carrying Jack-o’-lantern buckets filled with candy, treats, and toys. A woman hands them candy from the front door of her home.
Gearheart said families may also look for less expensive options when buying Halloween candy.
“You’ll start to see maybe some people substitute towards less of the name brand candies, or maybe substitute the bags, the pretzels or something comparable that are more able to be bought in bulk and a little bit cheaper per package,” Gearheart said.
With Halloween followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas, Gearheart said the end of the year can be challenging for household budgets.
“The end of the year tends to be the biggest issue for a lot of households’ budgets,” he said.