Dive Brief:
- Halloween spending will reach an estimated $12.2 billion this year as more people are expected to participate and spend for the holiday compared to last year, the National Retail Federation said Wednesday.
- Prosper Insights & Analytics surveyed about 8,000 people and found that 73% of them said they plan to participate in Halloween-related activities this year. That’s up from 69% in 2022.
- Anticipated total spending of $3.9 billion on Halloween decorations is expected to surpass the projected $3.6 billion consumers will spend on candy this year. Spending on candy is up from $3.1 billion last year. Spending on adult costumes will reach $2 billion, while spending on children’s costumes is anticipated to hit $1.4 billion.
Dive Insight:
After a dip in participation and spending at the height of the pandemic, Halloween is expected to break records this year. Half of the survey participants said they plan to dress up for the holiday, while 68% plan to hand out candy and 53% plan to decorate their homes or yards for the upcoming holiday on Oct. 31, NRF said Wednesday.
“More Americans than ever will be reaching into their wallets and spending a record amount of money to celebrate Halloween this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in the organization’s announcement.
Spending on decorations, which grew in popularity during the pandemic, continues to resonate with consumers, the NRF said. Of those who plan to celebrate, 77% plan to purchase decorations. That’s in line with last year and up from 72% in 2019. NRF also reported that 32% of people surveyed plan to throw or go to a party, up from 28% last year, while 28% of those surveyed plan to take their kids trick-or-treating.
Nearly the same percentage of people (40%) plan to visit a discount store as those who plan to visit a Halloween specialty store (39%) to buy their holiday items, while 32% of people said they’ll go online to buy Halloween-related items.
For big events or holidays, like back-to-school and the winter holidays, including Christmastime, earlier shopping seems to be a rising consumer trend. The Home Depot, for example, introduced its Halloween product lineup a week after July 4. That could also mean good news for a specialty retailer like Party City. The company relies heavily on consumer spending on holidays and celebratory events and just exited bankruptcy earlier this month.
Halloween appears to be no exception to the trend of early shopping for important or family-focused events, with 45% of those celebrating Halloween saying they plan to start shopping before October. That’s up from 33% a decade ago, the NRF said.
“Younger consumers are eager to begin their Halloween shopping, with more than half of those ages 25-44 planning to shop before or during September,” Phil Rist, Prosper’s executive vice president of strategy, said in a statement. “Social media continues to grow as a source of costume inspiration for younger consumers, as more people under 25 are turning to TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.”
Thirty-seven percent of people say they’ll go online for inspiration this year. And consumers are expected to spend $700 million on costumes for their pets. The NRF also said this year’s top movies and shows are influencing the holiday, with Spiderman, Barbie and Mario expected to be top costumes this year.
