October consumer spending rose 3.5%

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Characters such as Walter White from AMC's "Breaking Bad," have inspired Halloween costumes that benefit licensed merchandisers, among others.

After consumer spending slowed in September, a weekend of trick-or-treating and Halloween parties helped scare things straight in October.

Atlanta-based First Data Corp.'s monthly SpendTrend report says consumer spending rose 3.5 percent in October, compared with a 3.1 percent hike in September.

"We're off and running with a strong start to the holiday shopping season as this year, consumers are showing confidence in their early spending," said Krish Mantripragada, senior vice president of Information and Analytics Solutions for First Data. "This confidence, which is buoyed by a lower unemployment rate, made October, 2014 a robust spending month."

• Credit - up 5.5%
• Signature Debt - up 2.1%
• PIN Debit - up 2.5%
• Check - up 0.1%
• Prepaid - up 3.4%