Jordan Beck | Daily Press Cory Hughes looks for a costume for her granddaughter at Escanaba’s Meijer store Thursday.

ESCANABA — Halloween is Wednesday, and local retailers have seen strong sales of products tied to the holiday.

A press release issued by the National Retail Federation earlier this fall stated that — according to the federation’s annual survey, which was conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics — this year’s total Halloween spending was expected to hit a total of $9 billion. Last year saw a record $9.1 billion in Halloween spending.

The press release went on to claim that people celebrating Halloween this year plan to spend $86.79 on average. This marked an increase from last year, in which an average of $86.13 was recorded. For 2018, over 175 million people in the United States plan to celebrate Halloween.

Ann Lindberg, manager of Great Lakes Halloween in the Delta Plaza Mall, said business at the store this year has been roughly in line with what was seen there last fall.

“I would say it’s pretty comparable,” she said.

Great Lakes Halloween has moved to the Delta Plaza Mall’s food court for 2018. Lindberg said the location has been working out well for the store.

“They made it work pretty good, I think,” she said.

Jeff Kietzman, store director for Escanaba’s Meijer store, said Halloween is a busy time of year at Meijer.

“Compared to last year, we are 15 to 20 percent up in sales for Halloween,” he said.

At Great Lakes Halloween, Lindberg said 2018’s most in-demand costumes for toddlers and infants have been themed around a variety of TV shows and movies.

“Paw Patrol is so huge with the little kids,” she said. “Incredibles,” “PJ Masks,” and “Minions” costumes have also been popular in this age group.

For young boys, Lindberg said this year’s hottest costumes have been based on Marvel and DC superheroes.

“Your superheroes … they’re looking for them,” she said.

Young girls have been searching for a variety of costumes this Halloween.

“‘Descendants’ was popular with the girls,” Lindberg said. Other sought-after girls’ costumes include princesses, clowns, and characters from “Harry Potter.”

Kietzman said the trends he has seen for childrens’ costumes have been similar.

“This year, PJ Masks is popular,” he said. He went on to say that superhero costumes — including Avengers, Wonder Woman, and Incredibles-themed costumes — have also been in demand among children this Halloween.

According to Lindberg, one major trend in Halloween costumes this year (particularly among young teenagers) has been costumes based on the video game “Fortnite.” She said that Great Lakes Halloween has been selling unofficial Fortnite costumes, but that acquiring these costumes was not easy.

“They’re pretty popular — it was hard for her (Great Lakes Halloween owner Gail Lessard) to get her hands on it,” she said.

Adult men have been gravitating towards costumes based on horror icons, Lindberg said.

“They’ll go for the more scarier types, I think,” she said.

Lindberg had not noticed any similar trends for adult women’s costumes.

“You got your sexy, you got your normal, you got whatever,” she said.

Kietzman said many adults shopping at Meijer for Halloween have been buying traditional costumes.

“For adults, (it’s) more kind of the spooky and classic costumes,” he said.

Other popular items at Great Lakes Halloween have included masks and accessories. At Meijer, Kietzman said Halloween-themed home decor items — including wreaths, pumpkins, and skeletons — have been strong sellers in 2018.

“They’re (one of) the top trends this year,” he said. Party supplies like string lights, projectors, and fog machines have also been selling well at Meijer recently.

Escanaba’s Goodwill store typically sees an increase in business during the weeks leading up to Halloween, as well. Director of Marketing for Goodwill of Northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Cori Bodeman said October is one of the busiest times of the year at Goodwill.

“It’s at least a 20 percent (increase) for … Halloween,” she said of business at this time.

Rick Pepin, the manager of Escanaba’s Goodwill store, said business at his store appears to be stronger for this Halloween than it was last year.

“It seems busier this year than last October,” he said. According to Pepin, clothing (for use in Halloween costumes) and “knickknacks” (used as Halloween decorations) sell particularly well at this time.

In addition to Goodwill’s used items, Bodeman said the store offers a range of new Halloween-related products.

“We have a lot of new goods that are great accessories to go with any type of costume,” she said.