Halloween seems to have taken a firm hold in Okinawa with many local retailers setting up special Halloween-themed sites and organizing Halloween costume parades.

According to economists, the value of the Halloween market has grown to the same level with the Valentine’s Day, and is expected to expand even more in the years ahead.

According to the Japan Anniversary Association, the market size of Halloween this year was expected to reach ¥130.5 billion that is almost the same as the ¥138.5 billion of Valentine’s Day.

For example, AEON Ryukyu had set up special sites from the end of September where they sold sweets, drinks, children’s goods and costumes for Halloween. During the Halloween weekend, six AEON stores on Okinawa held the special events to attract customers.

Large-scale AEON stores, including AEON Naha store, reported that the number of customers doubled compared to last year on Sunday. The sales also increased by 10 to 20 %.

San-A also set up special sites from the end of September, and held related events during the weekend at its five large-scale stores including Naha Main Place.

• 
• NO DATA