Kmart® And Shop Your Way(SM) Reveal Spooktacular Trends Just In Time For Halloween

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- All Hallow's Eve is set to bring out ghouls and goblins alike! As Americans prepare for the spookiest day of the year, Kmart is offering a one-stop shopping experience for added ease. According to the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.9 billion this year.* With Halloween drawing such a large retail spend from consumers; Kmart has expanded its inventory of costumes, decor, lighted safety items and candy with so many possibilities, it's scary.

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A recent study conducted by Kmart and Shop Your Way unveiled this Halloween's top trends – covering everything from the most anticipated costume, to estimated candy consumption.

"Halloween has always been a big focus for us as a retailer," said James Alt, SVP and president, seasonal and outdoor living, Sears Holdings. "With 61 percent of Americans frequently purchasing their Halloween costumes, decor, candy and safety items like flashlights and glow-in-the-dark gear and accessories in a single shopping trip, we pride ourselves on offering a wide selection of products to make seasonal shopping easier than ever."

Trick-or-Trending
Key findings from the study found that pop culture continues to take the lead when it comes to creative costumes. Whether looking to emulate a character from a favorite TV show, or a superhero from one of this year's biggest blockbusters, pop culture characters are leading the pack this year. When asked to predict the most popular costumes this Halloween, Americans ranked Zombies as the most trending costume, with superheroes and Duck Dynasty following close behind.

Halloween is not complete without a belly full of candy, and Americans admitted to eating more than a quarter of their candy intended for trick-or-treaters. More than half of Americans plan to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this Halloween and Kmart is the one-stop shop to stock up on sweet loot.

Beyond candy, decor is the perfect accessory to make one's house stand out on the block. When it comes to transforming your home into a haunted house, more than 50 percent of Americans agreed that skeletons or skulls are an essential. 

Spellbinding Selections
Kmart has everything you need for a hair-raising Halloween. With more than 3,000 costumes available online and in stores, from princesses and superheroes to ghoulish goblins, you're sure to find a costume for everyone in your family. With more than 50 percent of Americans waiting until the week before to make their Halloween costume decisions, Kmart is sure to have a costume for last-minute planning.

Not only does Kmart offer a wide variety of costumes for the whole family, but its selection of home decor is simply frightful! Shoppers can find everything they need to transform their homes into the most haunted house on the block. From lighted tombstones to ghostly ghouls, skeletons and giant hairy spiders, Kmart has everything needed to spook the entire neighborhood.

If you are looking for a more bewitchingly beautiful look for the home interior, Lemax is once again featuring its Spooky Town. This year's collection adds even more thrills and chills with flashing lights, eerie sounds and menacing movement. 

Kmart's full selection of Halloween merchandise is available in-store or online at www.Kmart.com/HalloweenCatalog where visitors will find an extended assortment of merchandise. Shoppers can also enjoy free in-store pickup for added convenience. Free in-store pickup is only one of many integrated retail offerings available at Kmart. Others include: the Shop Your Way Mobile App, Shop'In, eCoupons, Layaway, Pay in Store and Free Third Party Pickup. For additional Halloween costume and decor inspiration, check out ShopYourWay.com, an interactive website and community that links members with exclusive content, deals and social shopping. Signing up to become a Shop Your Way member is easy and free at www.ShopYourWay.com.

Shoppers can also join the conversation about Hallow's Eve with #KmartHalloween.

*Source: National Retail Federation's 2013 Halloween consumer spending survey conducted by Prosper Insights.

About Kmart Survey
The Kmart Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+, between September 26th and October 4th, 2013, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population 18+.

Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.

About Kmart
Kmart, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD), is a mass merchandising company and part of ShopYourWay, a social shopping experience where members have the ability to earn points and receive benefits across a wide variety of physical and digital formats through ShopYourWay.com.  Kmart offers customers quality products through a portfolio of exclusive brands that include Sofia by Sofia Vergara, Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer, Route 66 and Smart Sense. For more information visit the company's website at www.kmart.com |Sears Holdings Corporation website at www.searsholdings.com.| Facebook: www.facebook.com/kmart

Contact Information:
Larry Costello
Sears Holdings
(847) 286-9036
Larry.Costello@searshc.com

Amanda Coyne
Zeno Group for Sears
(312) 245-0170
Amanda.Coyne@zenogroup.com

SOURCE Kmart