Even as most kids are still sorting through their trick or treat bags, major retailers are already turning their attention toward another favorite time of year for kids: The winter holidays.

The holiday shopping season – long crucial to most retailers’ financial success or failure – is starting earlier and earlier, especially online.

As of Halloween morning, retailers such as Amazon.com and Toyrus.com are already featuring holiday toys lists prominently on their home pages. Wal-Mart’s website was touting ways to get your home ready for the holidays alongside a last-minute Halloween costume promotion.

In all, the National Retail Federation said more than six in 10 online retailers were starting holiday promotions before Halloween.

Some may grouse about seeing Christmas trees in October, but a significant minority of shoppers do start  thinking early about holiday shopping. Retail analysts at NPD Group expect that more than two in 10 shoppers will start their holiday shopping by Thanksgiving, a slight increase from last year.

Nearly four in 10 plan to do holiday shopping online, about the same as last year, according to NPD.

Still, the presidential election – and more recently, Superstorm Sandy – are probably a bigger distraction to people right now. C. Britt Beemer, a retail analyst with America's Research Group, said his recent polling has found that to be the case.

"Over half the country said they had to get through this presidential election before they could even think about Christmas," he said.

The early promotions - along with other discounts, free shipping deals and limited-time offers - are among the ways online-only retailers are trying to get an edge over traditional retailers' promotions such as Black Friday.

For retailers with both an online and a physical presence, experts say it's a way to entice shoppers to buy from them whether they are at the mall, using their smart phone or on their laptop. 

"They’re really starting to realize that it’s a total picture. You can’t just pay attention to online or brick and mortar," said Vicki Cantrell, executive director of shop.org, the digital division of the National Retail Federation.

There are good deals to be had online, especially as we get closer to the holidays. But Beemer said consumers can still expect to get a good deal the old-fashioned way: By getting up really, really early on Black Friday and heading to a traditional store.

"There’s nothing better than those early bird specials," he said.

But Black Friday may not be such a good deal for those who aren't willing to wake up at the crack of dawn, and cost-conscious consumers have gotten more savvy about using online tools to compare prices and hold out for the best deal.

Cantrell said consumers are increasingly thinking of the period from Thanksgiving day to the Monday after Thanksgiving as an elongated shopping period, where they may shop online or in person, depending on what is cheapest and most convenient.

Overall, experts are predicting a decent holiday season as consumers grow a little less nervous about the economy, The National Retail Federation is estimating that sales will increase 4.1 percent, to $586.1 billion.

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Ahhh, good ol' candy corn: Love it or hate it, the iconic Halloween treat is the most-searched-for sweet on Google.

In the realm of trick-or-treating, apples are lame and Necco Wafers are even lamer. (What are those things, anyway — sugared cardboard?)

So what should you hand out to trick-or-treaters to assure your house doesn't land on the egging list? We've consulted the Internet and some candy stores in order to help you hand out the treats children want.

Based on sheer volume of Facebook likes, Skittles are the most popular candy, with 23.55 million people giving it the thumbs up. Starburst (11.5 million likes), Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (10 million likes), Kit Kat (9.4 million likes), and Twix (5.16 million likes) round out the top five most drooled-over treats on Facebook.

Google searches also shed light on people’s sugary cravings and curiosities. Candy corn, Gummy Bears and Snickers are the top three most-searched-for sweets overall. Interestingly, trick-or-treaters in Colorado might enjoy their Halloween hauls more because residents there really research their candy — the state boasts the highest number of Google searches for Halloween treats.

Californians should be prepared to bring home lots of organic candy because that state ranks highest in Google searches for such healthy treats. And kids in Washington should brace themselves: their state has the highest number of Google searches for sugar-free candy.

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Internet searches and Facebook likes indicate what sorts of treats are on people's minds this Halloween season.

Kristi Holmes, owner of The Confectionery in Seattle, said she doesn't think the Google search results accurately depict what Washingtonians want: “We do have sugar-free [candy], but it is more people who are diabetic and who are eating sugar-free [and low-carb diets] who buy it.”

Holmes noted that candy corn remains one of the most popular seasonal items at her store. “Our store sells almost 600 pounds [of candy corn] in two months,” she said.

Meanwhile, chocolate-loving Ohio residents search for candy bars more often than people in other states, while Wisconsin residents tend to search for gummy worms and North Carolina residents love researching jelly beans — a year-round favorite across the country thanks to gourmet options.

“We've had a ton of people come in for the Jelly Belly [candies],” said Hailey Buehler, an employee at Blickenstaff's toy and candy store in Provo, Utah. “The orange has been quite popular and other fall colors, as well.”

Want another reliable way to predict treat trends? Consider the weather. The worst U.S. drought in more than 50 years has caused the price of corn oil and high fructose corn syrup to spike this year, increasing candy costs by about 3 percent from last year — so it should be no surprise if the kids’ Halloween plunder looks smaller on Oct. 31. And forget about handing out apples or enjoying a glass of apple cider; apple prices have increased between 20 and 30 percent over last year.

Here are the full lists of popular candies on the Internet this year:

Facebook results for candy
Here are the top 10 most-liked treats on Facebook:

1. Skittles, 23.55 million likes

2. Starburst, 11.5 million likes

3. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, 10 million likes

4. Kit Kat, 9.4 million likes

5. Twix, 5.16 million likes

6. Snickers, 4.8 million likes

7. M&M'S, 4 million likes

8. Sour Patch Kids, 3.89 million likes

9. Life Savers Gummies, 3.28 million likes

10. Hershey’s Kisses, 1.97 million likes

Google results for candy
The top 10 hottest candy searches on the Google search engine are:

1. Candy corn

2. Gummy Bears

3. Snickers

4. M&M’S

5. Reese's

6. Milky Way

7. Twix

8. Lollipop

9. Twizzler

10. Peanut M&M'S

What's your all-time favorite Halloween candy? Tell us in the comments!

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• Healthier Halloween candy that won't ruin your reputation
• What's the most hated Halloween candy?
• Video: Scariest of all: Which viewer's Halloween costume is best?

Is Honey Boo Boo from the reality TV series

Halloween has stopped disguising itself as just a kids' holiday. The National Retail Federation says Americans will spend nearly $8 billion this year on everything from scary décor to candy — and costumes for the whole family. Nearly half of adults say they plan to dress up, which means there are a lot of people either giddily anticipating or dreading going to work that day.

People in the pro-costume camp say that aside from the fun factor, there actually can be some legitimate career benefits to dressing up like a shambling zombie.

“I’m very into Halloween,” said Dana Pollati. As a digital developer for a publishing company, Pollati said only a few of the roughly 1,000 people in her building wear costumes. Pollati and her husband, who work at the same company, have started what she calls a tradition of over-the-top getups like black-and-white movie zombies and Lego versions of Jersey Shore characters.

The costumes attract a lot of attention, which Pollati said yields unexpected networking benefits. “I’ve met a lot of people that way,” she said, since colleagues and even higher-ups are eager to introduce her to workers from other departments she otherwise wouldn’t be likely to meet.

In some offices, people say they appreciate the camaraderie of dressing up as, for instance, a reality-show star. “I think for the team as a whole... it's a good culture thing,” said Corey Beale, a sales manager at software company Hubspot. He said the company’s annual costume contest is a good chance for workers to exercise their creativity in a different way.

Two years ago, Beale said he dressed as “The Situation” from the reality show Jersey Shore, with gelled hair, an oversized necklace and a dark spray tan. “It felt really strange being dressed like that on the bus” and getting strange looks from other commuters, he said. “I felt really awkward.”

Beale said his trip into work was probably less awkward than that of a (male) colleague who came into work dressed as Snooki, with a trucker hat and voluminous black wig, plus a fat suit that incorporated a bikini.

While an employee wearing a fat suit in drag may all be in good fun at one office, it can be a real-life horror story for human resources at another, said Amy N. Letke, founder and CEO of consulting company Integrity HR.

“It’s always concerning because we live in a time when every employer has to be thinking about a respectful workplace,” she said. “It gets out of hand so fast.” One person’s idea of funny may be offensive to their colleague in the next cubicle, especially if the costume touches on race, religion or politics.

There's also the minefield of revealing costumes. Letke said that even in a festive atmosphere, people need to keep factors like hemlines and necklines in mind. “The sexy costumes are the things that just can create huge problems” because an eyebrow-raising Catwoman outfit can torpedo the wearer's professional credibility.

“These things don’t just last for one day,” she said. “The impression can last for a long time.”

Costumes that elicit an "oh-no-they-didn't" moment from co-workers aren't limited to the overly risqué numbers, either. Tilmon Brown, a former imaging company salesperson, remembers a Halloween when a co-worker came dressed as a feminine hygiene product.

“He put on a pair of gray long johns and then he took a cardboard tube and cut arms in it ...and then he took the top and filled the top with cotton and had a string hanging out the back,” Brown said. "There was no doubt as to what he was," especially since the colleague painted “Tampax” on the cardboard.

“I think he thought everybody thought it would be hilarious ...After he walked in, he realized it wasn't a good idea but at that point he was too far in,” Brown said. The man was so sure his costume would be a hit that he didn’t bring a change of clothes, so after a few hours of fielding complaints from offended employees, management sent him home to change.

“A company opens themselves up for whatever when they have a company-sponsored costume event unless you lay down some rules,” Brown said.

If you don't tell them what the rules are, they’re never going to know," Letke said.

Trevor Villet, creative director at marketing company PlanIt, is one example of a person who took his employer's permissive attitude toward costumes to the extreme.

"Two years ago, I was a turd," he said. "I was head to toe, complete with corn — it was actually styrofoam — and pipe cleaner flies."

Villet, who had come in a relatively run-of-the-mill costume as the singer George Michael the previous year, estimated it took him about a week to assemble his gross-out creation, which involved long underwear, brown fabric dye and a lot of brown fleece.

His managers didn't reprimand him, Villet said, but the response from colleagues and other professionals who also had offices in the building was another story.

"I bought one of these fart machines and I hid it in the fabric, and just carried it with me," In the morning, Villet rode what he described as a "packed" elevator to his office, accompanied by a woman who worked with him. "I sort of nonchalantly hit the button and let it go,” embarrassing the colleague who had to exit the elevator with him. "I love putting people in awkward situations," he said.

A stunt like Villet's would probably be scarier than any ghost or ghoul to someone like Mary Baier, a former manager at at community bank who now has her own financial services practice. “My whole thing on the Halloween dressing up was that it was not professional,” she said. As one of the few outliers in a heavily pro-costume workplace, Baier said many of her co-workers called her a “nerd” and teased her. 

Going to the boss wasn’t an option, either. “My department head would say, ‘Get with it, we need to let our customers see our hair let down,' ” she said. “I guess I was called a party pooper.”

Things got so bad, Baier said, that she resorted to taking vacation days on Halloween just to avoid the needling. “I hated it so much.”

Letke said it hurts morale when a worker feels implicitly or explicitly mandated to wear a costume against their wishes. “Peer pressure is so intense,” Letke said. “Some people may be very self-conscious about what kind of costume they wear because it has a lasting impact."

Do you wear a costume to work on Halloween? Tell us about it on Facebook. 

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Americans are planning to spend on average $79.82 on costumes, decorations, and candy. That's up from $72.31 last year, and $66.28 the year prior.

If the pirates look more menacing, the porch decorations more extravagant, and the sexy costumes for poodles a little sexier, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. Consumer spending this Halloween is set to reach $8 billion, a 10-year record high, according to a new survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Americans are creaking open their wallets a little more this year, saying they're planning on spending on average $79.82 on costumes, decorations, and candy. That's up from $72.31 last year, and $66.28 the year prior. More will be joining in the trick or treating and Halloween party-going and throwing, too, with participation up to 71.5 percent from 68.6 percent last year.

Driving the trend: Adults. That's right, Halloween isn't just for kids any more. The greatest increase in costume spending comes from adults on their own costumes, up $200 million, while family spending on costumes for kids is only up $100 million.

Dropping more in a down economy might sound foolhardy, but Halloween is one holiday where you can get more boo for your buck. Individuals on average spend an average of over $100 on both Valentine's and Easter, and over $150 on Mother's Day. The key events of those holidays might last for just a few hours, while the fun of Halloween can go all day and night. Then there's the buildup and preparation, the post-Halloween night story-sharing, and those visits to the trick or treat bag, which, depending on your discipline, can go for weeks (or days, or hours...)

Ultimately it's as simple as the pleasure in pretending to be someone - or something - else for an evening. “Halloween for consumers has really become a form of escapism,” Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director for BigInsight, told NBC News. “We're forgetting about the economy for the night.”

Goodfellow, whose firm conducted the research for the NRF, said that Americans have gotten their finances in shape in the past few years and are deploying their dollars more strategically. “We're waiting for these targeted times to relax a little,” she said.

However, it's not all candied apples. One quarter of those surveyed said the economy will make them spend less. 18 percent plan on making a costume instead of buying and 36.1 percent will buy less candy. 

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A white beard, a bald pate and a dark suit could turn you into Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke this Halloween.

The economy is still frightful, yet more Americans than ever are planning to take part in traditional Halloween festivities this year, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by BIGresearch.

The NRF’s 2011 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey finds that seven in 10 Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up slightly from last year and the most in NRF’s nine-year survey history. Those celebrating are expected to spend slightly more too, with the average American shelling out $72.31 on decorations, costumes and candy, up from $66.28 last year, the NRF said. Total Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.86 billion.

Much of that money is likely to be spent on Halloween costumes, and with the economy doing its impression of the walking dead, more of this year’s outfits could be business or economy-themed.

A strong demand for dark mock turtleneck sweaters might suggest that the late Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs could be a favorite costume this year, while some may opt to don a white beard, a bald pate and a dark suit to dress up as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

With the unemployment rate stuck above 9 percent more than two years since the credit crisis struck, it could be the most frightening costume of them all.