It won’t be a ghastly Halloween for retailers. So finds the NRF in its latest forecast for Halloween-related retail spending. In fact, total spending on the event is expected to reach a new high, fueled by a return to participation levels seen pre-pandemic.
This year’s edition of the study estimates that almost 7 in 10 (69% of) US adults will celebrate Halloween. That’s up from 65% last year and 58% in 2020, and even slightly above the 68% who planned to celebrate in 2019.
Total Halloween-related spending is forecast to jump to $10.6 billion, exceeding last year’s record projection of $10.1 billion. Interestingly, in the 2 years prior to the pandemic, Halloween participation and total forecast spend were on the decline, so the past couple of years represent quite the about-face.
This year celebrants are expected to spend about $100 each ($100.45, to be more specific), down slightly from last year’s high of $102.74, but nevertheless only the second year in the survey’s history to break the triple-digit spending mark per celebrant.
The largest amount of total spend is predicted to be allocated to costumes ($3.6 billion – purchased by 67% of Halloween shoppers) and decorations ($3.4 billion; 75%), with another $3.1 billion being spent on candy, the most popular purchase (planned by 96% of Halloween celebrants). Spending on dressing up pets is projected to reach a new high this year of $710 million.
Two-thirds of adults plan to hand out candy, while about half (51%) plan to decorate their homes and close to half (47%) will dress up in a costume.
The most popular costumes for children this year are Spiderman and Princess again, while for adults Witches will again be the top choice, followed by Vampires.
When shopping for Halloween merchandise, 4 in 10 plan to head to discount stores. Other popular places to shop include specialty Halloween or costume stores (36%), online (31%), grocery stores or supermarkets (28%) and department stores (25%).
For more data on Halloween spending and planned purchases, see the NRF survey results here.
About the Data: The NRF survey results are based on a survey of 8,283 consumers conducted September 1-6 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
