Halloween is back in style. Some 148 million Americans will enjoy the holiday this year spending considerably more than they did last year.
People will spend $66.28 on costumes, candy and decorations, up from $56.31 million last year and back on par with 2008 spending of $66.54, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2010 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch.
Americans are expected to spend a total $5.8 billion.
“In recent years, Halloween has provided a welcome break from reality, allowing many Americans a chance to escape from the stress the economy has put on their family and incomes,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay, in a release. “This year, people are expected to embrace Halloween with even more enthusiasm, and will have an entire weekend to celebrate since the holiday falls on a Sunday.”
Breaking down the dollars per person:
Costumes: an average $23.37
Candy: $20.29
Decorations: $18.66
Greeting Cards:$3.95
More people plan to dress up this year (40.1%), the highest percentage in the history of the survey. This compares to 33.4% last year. And we all know how people love their pets: an astounding 11.5% will dress up their pets as well.
Some 33.3% of people will either throw or attend a party, (72.2%) will be at the door to hand out candy, 46.3% will carve a pumpkin, 20.8% will visit a haunted house and 31.7% will take their children trick-or-treating.
Trick-or-treaters can expect to encounter some fun and ghoulish displays as half of those surveyed will decorate their homes or years.
And while many may think Halloween is for the youngsters, young adults will be most likely to participate with 69.4% of 18-24 year olds saying they will dress in costume, the highest of any other age group.
Each year brands get more creative in participating in the holiday. MilkPEP since 2006 has positioned its chocolate milk as the Official Drink of Halloween and this year took second place in the 2010 Pro Awards in the category of Best Campaign that Uses a Holiday Theme in its Promotion.
Even as planning is underway, consumers said the economy still plays a role with most of the respondents citing they would spend less overall (86.8%).
“Though Halloween spending will be much more robust than a year ago, consumers will still err on the side of caution,” Phil Rist, executive vice president, strategic initiatives, BIGresearch, said in a release. “Americans are excited about Halloween but are still being frugal and pinching their pennies where they can.”
The poll of 9,291 consumers was conducted from Aug. 31 – Sept. 8, 2010.
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