Halloween expenses could reach a record high in USA

By: Yan Kalmikov, Staff Reporter, The Pawprint 

Expenses on Halloween in the USA, which is celebrated on October 31, could reach a record high of $10.14 billion this year, according to the results of an annual survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Last year, the volume of costs was equal to $8.05 billion.”Americans plan to spend more than ever to make this Halloween memorable,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers have taken a number of measures, for example, bringing products for Halloween earlier than usual, so that their shelves are filled with seasonal sweets, decorative items and other things on the eve of this important holiday.” 

According to NRF, 65% of respondents plan to take part in the celebration of Halloween, compared with 58% last year and 68% in the pre-pandemic 2019. At the same time, households with children are more likely to celebrate this event – 82% versus 55% among those who do not have children.

Consumers say they plan to spend $102.74 on average, which is about $10 more than last year. At the same time, the expenses of households with children will be twice as high – $149.7 versus $73.6. According to the survey, Americans plan to spend a total of $3.17 billion on holiday decorations, compared with $2.59 billion in 2020. 

The cost of costumes will reach a record $3.32 billion in five years (last year – $2.61 billion). $3 billion will be spent on sweets against $2.41 billion. Spending on greeting cards will rise to $0.66 billion from $0.44 billion.This year, preparations for Halloween will begin earlier than usual: 45% of respondents plan to start shopping in September, and another 39% – in the first two weeks of October.

Every five Americans plan to dress up pets for the celebration. The most popular costumes are pumpkins, hot dogs, super heroes, cats or bumblebees. For children this year, Americans most often choose the costumes of Spider-Man, Batman and other superheroes. Adults prefer costumes of witches, vampires, ghosts, cats and pirates. More than 8 thousand Americans took part in the survey, which was conducted from September 1 to September 8.