An uncertain Halloween

The uncertainty surrounding Halloween and the ban on parties are having an impact on costume and decoration stores.

At Halloween Expert, as soon as the government announced that regions were going into the red zone, a drop in sales was observed, reports Lynda Bouvier, president of the company Party Expert, which holds the banner intended for the Day of the Dead.

“We are at a little more than half of our usual sales compared to last year,” notes Myriam Boisvert-Montis, assistant manager of the Halloween Expert in Quebec.

However, online sales have exploded, which has allowed the company to hold on, says Ms. Bouvier.

In Montreal, the co-owners of the independent boutique Au Bal Masqué, Janie Saint-Pierre and Méliza Théorêt, had planned the coup and ordered fewer costumes than usual in anticipation of Halloween.

“We don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but we’re going to try to swing like that,” says Ms. Théorêt.