At the Target department store in Exeter Township Tuesday afternoon for a story on halloween costumes. Cislo, 43, of Dallas, plans to spend about $700 for Halloween to step up his family's front yard decorations. As retailers brace for a lackluster holiday season, many are planning to pump up sales early by dangling a wider assortment of Halloween merchandise. Target executives expressed high hopes for sales of costumes, haunted house cookie building sets and other Halloween merchandise, even after cutting the company's profit outlook twice. That's expected to lift total Halloween spending to a record $10.6 billion, a jump from last year's $10.1 billion, the survey found.

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