Costumes, candy, decor fuel $12.2 billion Halloween spending splurge in US: A new record

Consumers are expected to spend a record $12.2 billion for Halloween candy, costumes and decorations, according to National Retail Federation's annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

“More Americans than ever will be reaching into their wallets and spending a record amount of money to celebrate Halloween this year,” said Matthew Shay, NRF president and chief executive officer.

This year's Halloween spending is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels. The highest Halloween spending clocked in at $9.1 billion in 2017, but took a dip to $8 billion during the pandemic in 2020. Consumer are expecting to spend $108.24 per person this year, up from $100.45 from 2022.

The survey gathered responses from 8,084 consumers about their shopping plans and found that 68% of people planned to celebrate by handing out candy, 53% planned to decorate their home and yard, and 50% planned to dress up in a costume. The survey also found that more consumers, 32% of them planned to throw or attend a Halloween party and 28% were going to take their kids trick-or-treating.

Candy and costumes are expensive. Why?

While inflation may be to blame for the rising cost of goods, a sugar shortage may also be tied to the increase in candy prices. The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this year that sugar prices rose to its highest since 2012, stemming from bad weather that hit China, India and Thailand.

On the other hand, the NRF survey found that customers are still exploring cost-saving measures as 40% of people surveyed planned to do their Halloween shopping at discount stores, followed by 39% shopping at specialty Halloween and costume stores, and 32% shopping online.

What are people spending money on this Halloween?

Costumes are the biggest revenue generator of the holiday this year, and expected to bring in $4.1 billion. Consumers are also spending more on Halloween decorations, which is expected to generate $3.9 billion, followed by candy at $3.6 billion, the survey found.

And while witch and ghost costumes were popular among adults, children and pets, some new additions were inspired by this year's movies like "Barbie" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie." The Wednesday Addams character from the Netflix series "Wednesday," also made the list for popular children's costume this year.

Did your favorite make the list?Here are the most popular Halloween candies for 2023.

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Top 10 Halloween costumes for kids

• Spiderman
• Princess
• Ghost
• Superhero
• Witch
• Batman
• Barbie
• Zombie
• Mario
• Wednesday Addams

Top 10 Halloween costumes for pets

• Pumpkin
• Hot dog
• Bat
• Bumblebee
• Spider
• Devil
• Cat
• Lion
• Ghost
• Witch

Top 10 Halloween costumes for adults

• Witch
• Vampire
• Barbie
• Batman
• Cat
• Zombie
• Pirate
• Princess
• Ghost
• Spiderman