It’s no ghost, Halloween decorations out for sale earlier [Video]

BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s mid-September, so it seems reasonable that Halloween decorations are up on store shelves. But if you feel like you’re seeing them on store shelves sooner and sooner, you’re right.

Holiday spending projections came out recently and financial consulting firm Deloitte expects sales to increase between 2.3 and 3.3% this year. The price tag is projected to total $1.59 trillion between November and January.

The phenomenon is known as “holiday creep.” As early as July, big box stores were releasing their Halloween decorations. Some are already sold out.

“It seems to get earlier every year or every few years,” said Charles Lindsey, associate professor of marketing at the UB School of Management. “That’s the trend, at least, you know, follow the money trail at the end of the day.”

Lindsey says over the past decade, possibly two, that holiday creep has been creeping up earlier each year.

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