Spirit Halloween is turning some of its stores into a Christmas spin-off

new York
CNN
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When the latest spooky season is over, it doesn’t mean the end for some Spirit Halloween stores, as the chain plans to convert some locations and keep them open through the holidays.

The retailer is opening a total of 10 Spirit holiday stores, primarily in the northeastern United States, filled with winter holiday-themed items, including gifts, decorations and inflatables. There is also a “life-sized” gingerbread village and the opportunity to take a photo with Santa opened mostly in November, the company said.

“Our goal is to create a festive shopping experience that captures the spirit of the season, similar to what we do for Halloween,” a spokesperson told CNN.

The pop-up chain will be a mix of some converted ones Spirit Halloween shops and new locations. A flagship Spirit holiday store in May’s Landing, New Jersey, will be the first to open on October 18, with the others opening a few weeks later.

This year, Spirit Halloween opened a record 1,525 stores across the United States and Canada. The chain, owned by mall-established Spencer Gifts, typically opens up to eight weeks before Halloween, usually in empty storefronts, and closes shortly thereafter.

Spirit Halloween doesn’t release sales figures, but the spooky holiday is big business overall in the US. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), $11.6 billion is expected to be spent on costumes, decorations and other items this year.

The winter holidays are even bigger business for Spirit Halloween: Last year, spending nationwide rose nearly 4% to a record $964 billion, according to the NRF.