By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- Halloween falls on a Saturday this year. Typically, that would mean more ghoulish festivities, both for adults who can parade until the wee hours on Franklin Street and kids who can trick-or-treat without worrying about getting up for school the next morning.

Such festivities, on a typical year, would also usually mean a bonanza of riches for retailers with Halloween goods.

Although Jon Biggs, a co-owner of the Halloween Zone at Northgate Mall, said he expects sales will be significantly better than last year, his company is taking things easy and being cautious this year, on account of the economy.

For one thing, instead of the five stores his company had in the Triangle back in 2005, the last time Halloween was on a Saturday, the company opened two stores this year. The other store is in Crabtree Valley Mall.

The Durham-based company also operates a Web site, www.costumezone.com, that sells costumes year-round.

Suppliers aren't ramping up as much as they would otherwise for a Saturday Halloween this year, Biggs said, because they don't want to be stuck with the inventory.

So the store is turning to lower price points and discounts to try to draw in shoppers looking to save.

"We've reacted by having a lot more costumes and accessories that get the job done, but aren't as pricey as they were," he said. "Our marketing has changed to focus more on discounts and gift certificates. People are really looking for ways to economize."

A report released by the National Retail Federation said it expects consumers will spend an average of $56.31 on Halloween this year, down from $66.54 last year, primarily because the state of the U.S. economy is continuing to affect consumer spending.

About 30 percent of survey respondents said the economy is affecting their spending plans. Among them, 46.5 percent said they plan on buying less candy, 35.4 percent said they will be using last year's decorations, 26.4 percent said they won't be participating in Halloween activities like haunted houses or festivals, 16.8 percent said they will make their own costumes instead of buying them and 15.8 percent said they will reuse last year's costumes.

The average 18- to 24-year-old also plans on spending less, $68.56 this year on the holiday, compared with $86.59 last year.

Jacqueline Morgan, owner of Morgan's Imports in downtown, said September sales at the store are up from a year ago and expects Halloween sales to be level with last year.

"I'm more optimistic this year," she said. "I think to some degree, [the recession] has leveled out a little bit."

Biggs hopes that the fantasy element of Halloween will give the holiday an extra boost.

"This year, what we've seen is that people have adapted a little bit, and still looking for a way to escape," Biggs said. "This is the one time in the year where you can escape and be whatever you want to be."

Both Biggs and Morgan also reported negligible impact from the Cash for Clunkers and first-time homebuyers tax credit programs, which used public funding to boost sales in the automotive industry and housing market.

The savings that consumers received in those sectors apparently did not trickle over to retail.

"In order to get those benefits, you've got to spend a lot of money in the first place," Biggs said.

As for consumer spending for the rest of the holiday season, NRF spokeswoman Kathy Grannis said it's difficult to forecast Christmas spending based on Halloween sales since the holidays are so different.

"Halloween is purely discretionary," she said. "Whereas, Christmas is for a lot of people very important that they share some kind of gift."