Turnover in the millions

Spooky festival makes the tills ring with excitement

Disguises and decorations are once again very popular on Halloween(Bild: Vitalii)

This year, Lower Austrians are spending nine million euros on sweets, scary decorations and costumes for Halloween. Retailers are already rubbing their hands in glee. But not everyone is happy with the custom...

Trick or treat! For retailers in Lower Austria, Halloween is more about the former. Fans of the spooky festival are prepared to pay a lot for their ghoulish pleasure.

Spoil yourself
On average, those who want to go all out on the last night of October spend 50 euros. "And 80 percent of these purchases are made in local stores," says Franz Kirnbauer, Head of the Trade Division at the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, who is delighted with the strong boost for the industry. A total turnover of nine million euros is expected.

22 percent of Halloween fans in Lower Austria want to spend more money on the festival this year than last year.

Franz Kirnbauer, Wirtschaftskammer NÖ

Bild: Wagner Tanja

Spending mainly on sweets
According to a study by KMU Forschung Austria, 48 percent of 15 to 29-year-olds want to celebrate Halloween this year. They spend money primarily on sweets (80%), costumes (40%) and decorations (33%). Pumpkins are particularly popular, followed by lights and ghost figures.

Police warn against crime
Every year, the police are less pleased than the economy with the Halloween celebrations. "Not every prank that seems harmless to children and young people is within the law," emphasizes a police spokesperson: "Defacing or smearing houses or cars, destroying letterboxes or even threatening people who don't want to give out sweets are criminal offences." Such incidents are reported without exception, they say. In any case, there will be more police patrols on Halloween.