As we reported last year, “Halloween Spending Is Big Business.” Here, we examine expected Halloween 2018 spending. How much are people spending? And on what? Will 2018 Halloween sales exceed those in 2018? Given the state of the economy, we would certainly expect that.
What Is the Level of Expected Halloween 2018 Spending?
Halloween is big business. But would it surprise you to learn that 2018 Halloween spending will fall slightly below that in 2017? It certainly surprises us. But facts are facts. 
According to Niall McCarthy, reporting for Statista:
“Revellers gear up for Halloween by splurging on a host of costumes, decorations, and candy. And all of that spending add ups. Indeed, for some people, the fright factor isn’t just confined to Halloween with credit-card bills sending a shiver down people’s spines well afterwards. This year, 70 percent of Americans plan to celebrate the beloved autumn holiday. And on average, each person will spend $87.”
“Halloween always represents great news for U.S. retailers. This, this year, Americans are expected to spend $9.0 billion in total. Slightly down on last year’s $9.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation.”
“45 percent of Americans will shop at a discount store this year. While just under a quarter will make their Halloween purchases online. When it comes to how people will celebrate, 70 percent will hand out candy. 50 percent will decorate. And 48 percent will dress in costume.”
“Speaking of costumes, Americans will spend $3.2 billion on spooky outfits in 2018. The top costumes for children this year are the princess, superhero, and bat. Among adults, witch is at top of the costume list, followed by vampire and zombie. Of course, we never forget our four-legged friends Halloween. And for 2018, the top pet costumes are the pumpkin, hot dog, and bumble bee outfits.”
Look at the infographic for specific spending patterns.
I agree with this article. Costume spending and decorating your homes for Halloween play a huge part in the spending for the 2018 year.
I think the slight decrease this year comes from Halloween falling on a Wednesday this year. Wednesday is right in the middle of the week making it difficult to choose when to have family Halloween parties, the weekend before or after. Costumes are the most important and expensive part of halloween thus I am not surprised that most of the money goes towards costumes. The low number of people trick-or-treating is super upsetting I know the holiday has dies a but due to parents being worried about safety or not having time to celebrate.
I think that this information is very accurate because I know that personally I do spend a lot of money on Halloween costumes. I usually dress up more than once for during the week so it I spend a lot of money. I also do relate to the part where a lot of people are buying halloween things online because this year I have bought almost everything I needed on amazon. Halloween is an expensive holiday because it is celebrated by almost all. This year the holiday falls on a Wednesday which is right smack in the middle of the week which may be adding to the decrease in sales because everyone has work and school the next day.
It surprised me that 9 billion in total will be predicted to have spent on Halloween this year. On average, a person will spend 87 dollars. While this statistic is intriguing, it also includes costumes, candy, and maybe parties (hosting/attending). Halloween is mostly celebrated by all ages so knowing that, it produces the 9 billion in total including the people that do not spend money or celebrate Halloween.
Halloween gas definitely increased in popularity over the years, and just like the infographics show- one area that is becoming obsolete is Trick-or-Treating.. which I feel is the most important aspect of Halloween!
I always see so much spending every halloween, and I must wonder if there is an untapped market of people who enjoy Halloween-like activities and parties year round. Not necessarily trick-or-treating, but the costumes, the autumn decorations, the tricks, the haunted houses, maybe even PREMIUM specialty candy could be cool since most Halloween candy is the dreaded “fun-size.”
This article accurately represents the holiday. People spend lots of money around the holidays, especially towards the end of the year. With costumes, candy, and decorations there is no question Americans spent around $9.0 billion. However, I am surprised that there was a decrease in total from 2017 because I feel like Halloween gets bigger and bigger every year.
The information presented doesn’t surprise me at all. So much candy, decorations, and costumes are purchased across the country. Costumes and decorations can be pretty expensive as well so it makes sense that they would be the top 3 things listed concerning how Americans are celebrating. I am also not surprised that candy is in the lead by 20% because even if you are not dressing up or celebrating, usually people still buy candy to hand out to trick or treaters. Its interesting that there was a slight decrease in spending this year since it has been increasing every year prior. But it is such a slight decrease that it could just be from factors like work, or weather.
Im shocked with the increase of spending in recent years! i would normally expect that an increase would be due to an increase in children being born causing more candy and costumes to be purchased. However it is very interesting that the increase is caused by adults. This shows that nationally party life is becoming more and more prevalent in society. adults are making social gatherings a regular part of their lives. This is great! it is excellent for networking and the spreading of knowledge. This can have a profound effect on the future of our society. Great read, loved the diagram.
Even though it is less compared to the last year, projections can sometimes be wrong too. Projected $9 billion in spending is a huge win for companies who sells costumes, candy’s, and decorations. It is good to see that retail is still leading the chart and online is at 25%. In coming years, it might be other way around due to increasing online shopping and emarketing.
I’m not surprised by how much people spend for this holiday. Much of the celebratory events and actions that make up Halloween require a lot of spending and in my opinion probably the most except for Christmas. I was surprised to see that only 25% of Halloween shopping was done online as I expected it to be a little higher, but I do expect that number to be increasing gradually over the next few years.
I think that Halloween is an excellent time for businesses to increase profits. Almost every product can undergo a Halloween inspired makeover and most people will buy it to decorate their house. I know that personally my friends and family will buy almost anything Halloween related and exchange it for their previous fall decorations. Even if some people don’t hand out candy they will most likely purchase candy for the “good deals” that follow Halloween. Overall the market for Halloween themed items and service is fairly large and can be further expanded upon as it is constantly changing and adapting to each year’s new trends.
This article and infographic were interesting and not surprising to me. The amount of money being spent overall on halloween makes sense as this holiday is celebrated by every age group, whether by dressing up for trick or treating, attending a party, or staying in to give out candy. Every halloween costume is always very expensive for the quality f the product and how typically there is only one use fro it, which is why majority of the money is spent on this. The total sales going down this year is also probably due to the fact halloween was on a Wednesday which made it difficult to celebrate on the day of. There might have been people re-wearing their costumes on both weekends as they were not consecutive days, which could have also contributed to the decrease in sales. I think that everyone also buys halloween candy during this time of year, especially right after halloween when it goes on sale. Even if they aren’t really planning on celebrating halloween it still contributes to the overall marketing and purchasing of halloween goods.
The article is really interesting and is an indication of american’s affinity towards holidays and festivals. I would not be surprised to learn about people spending more on thanksgiving and during Christmas
It is interesting to see from this article that how influential Halloween in America nowadays. Though the expected spending is about $9.0 billion which is lower than the total expense calculated last year, it is still a disregardable expense for a whole economy. There are more and more events that are being held on Halloween year by year, like the costume festival in New York City. Those activities lead people to buy costumes, decorations, etc. I believe that in the near future the amount of money spent on Halloween will be much greater than today.
I definitely agree with this post because I understand how easy it is to spend a lot on this holiday because it is so enjoyable. As for the slight decrease this year, I have two thoughts as to why that happened. The first being that Halloween was celebrated on a Wednesday this year. Because of this, people weren’t really able to go all out for the holiday because of work/school. My second theory is that I feel like more and more people are making costumes themselves. Because people are making costumes themselves, they aren’t spending as much because the materials are cheaper and they’re able to utilize things they already have.
I agree with this because I used to spend lots of money when I was younger. I would get a costume with props and other things. Plus my mom would spend even more money on candy, and decorations for the house. I do not think halloween is dying, I think that it was a slower year because of the timing of the holiday. When I was younger when halloween was on a week day, not as many people were out on the streets later at night. And since Halloween is on a Wednesday this year, it may be more of a decrease.
I am not too surprised by the amount of money that Americans are projected to spend this year on Halloween. Halloween is an expensive holiday due to the fact that people need costumes, most people hand out candy, and a handful of people also love to get into the spirit by decorating their house. However, if Americans are spending this much on Halloween, I can only imagine how much they are projected to spend on Christmas. While there is no costume aspect to Christmas, there is so much more that goes into it such as buying friends and family presents, preparing dinner if you are hosting it, decorating which is taken to higher levels than it is for Halloween, and many more aspects that come along with it. Although some people might think spending so much money on holidays is a complete waste, I would like to disagree with that to a certain extent. No, there is no need to buy useless things that will go to waste such or go overboard and buy too much stuff. However, dressing up and getting into the spirit of whichever holiday it is, is something that you will remember for the rest of your lifetime. I will always be able to look back at pictures of myself dressed up as a child and reflect on those times and I personally think that it is worth it for the memories.
I am not surprised about the amount that people are spending on the holiday. Halloween is super hyped up every year because it creates big business for many companies. Given that I usually dress up two or three times during Halloweek, $87 sounds about right. This number also makes sense for older folks who dress up once, decorate their homes, and hand out candy on the 31st.
This is no surprise. Americans love to go all out for the holidays and Halloween is no exception. From what I’ve seen, college students seem to spend a lot of money on Halloween outfits and decorations because of all the Halloween themed parties that go on around that time of year. It’s also important to put into consideration that families buy a lot of candies to give out to give out to the trick o treaters around that time of year.