Halloween Stores Pop Up In Old Retail Haunts

Suzanne Mulvee, senior economist at Property & Portfolio Research, estimates there is 269 million more square feet in vacant retail space — the equivalent of about more than 5,000 full-size Best Buy stores — across the country compared with a year ago. That gives retailers bargaining power, she said.

"A year ago they were in the corner of the mall, where no one went to," she said. "Now there are all these choices."

Shuttered big-box stores also let retailers have more space, which ultimately translates into more dollars for seasonal retailers.

"It helps to make the store more shoppable, there's more floor space to put out all the product that you want and still have enough elbow room for customers," said Halloween Adventure's Purifico. The average square footage for Halloween Adventures stores grew from 8,000 to 10,000 this year.

If you try to cram too much into a smaller store, "the store becomes a maze," he said.

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