Halloween 2016 could be dominated by clowns and presidential candidates, although many Americans may find that group redundant. According to University of Detroit Mercy Marketing Professor Michael Bernacchi, costumes of clowns and the presidential candidates are likely flying off the shelves this Halloween.
Reports of clowns trying to lure people into the woods began in South Carolina in August, but the troubling trend has since spread across the nation. There have been a number of reports of clowns lurking in the shadows holding balloons, terrorizing children and even robbing gas stations.
Bernacchi reports that the states with the largest number of clown reports (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia) are also the states with the largest surge in clown mask sales.
“While teens & children are the primary victims of fear in these clown related incidents, costume shops are the primary victors as they reap the sales from this recent clown craze,” Bernacchi explains.
He reports that election years are already typically the best years for Halloween costume sales. This year’s total Halloween sales are expected to come in at $8.4 billion, about $1.5 billion ahead of last year's total.
The clown/candidate costume combo could prove to be very good news for shareholders of Party City Holdco Inc PRTY, which is already up 34.6 percent so far this year.
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