In a quiet Long Island suburb in the 1970s, Ben Cooper was scouting Halloween costumes to see how many kids were dressing up like their favorite movie and TV characters. The rise of television meant kids now wanted to dress as their on-screen heroes, fueling a licensing boom that saw millions of character-based costumes sold each year. Ben Cooper, Inc. and Collegeville revolutionized the Halloween costume industry in the 20th century by securing these licenses for newly popularized characters. Cooper's keen trend-spotting and licensing deals with Disney and Lucasfilm helped the company establish a dominant market position.

Halloween Adventure in the East Village of Manhattan has kept its doors open year-round since 1997 -- without a major online presence -- by inspiring costume lovers, cosplayers and production assistants alike, all looking for the perfect item for their project or event. The shop has cultivated a loyal customer base and employee roster thanks to the enthusiastic, 80-year-old owner, Anthony Bianchi, who consistently wears black and keeps his long, silver hair in a ponytail.

Mondelēz is making Halloween special for trick-or-treaters by giving out 20,000 bags of candy to select homes which will then be marked with a 15-foot inflatable Sour Patch Kid so trick-or-treaters know where to find the goods. "The sweet part is that the Very Big Kid is out there," says Edgard Gianesi, chief creative officer of DAVID Miami, the firm behind the campaign. "The sour part is that we're not telling where!"

SmartTake: Big calendar events and holidays like Halloween give small businesses the opportunity to put together fun, experiential activations that get the local community involved and excited about your products and services.

Halloween sales are expected to reach record levels this year despite concerns about inflation and tariffs, with the National Retail Federation predicting that Americans will spend $13.1 billion on costumes, candy and events. Minnesota-based HalloweenCostumes.com has seen a surge in last-minute orders and rentals as the holiday approaches. Meanwhile, entertainment venues such as Can Can Wonderland are preparing for increased crowds, with special events and themed decorations expected to boost traffic by 50% over a typical weekend.

Salem, Mass., has set a record for Halloween visitors this year, with more than 1 million people visiting the city before the holiday. The surge in tourism has energized Salem's local economy, with hotels, restaurants and businesses seeing significant growth, although it presents challenges for city services such as police, fire and EMT.

Halloween candy is 10.8% more expensive this year, driven by soaring cocoa prices and tariffs under President Donald Trump. Small businesses like Escazú Chocolates in Raleigh, North Carolina, are feeling the squeeze from rising cocoa prices and tariffs, leading to higher costs for ingredients and packaging. To cope, these businesses are paying more to small farmers, reducing product sizes, promoting non-chocolate offerings and even moving to less expensive locations.