Halloween shoppers to start purchasing before October
| Nearly half of Halloween shoppers to start purchasing before October |
| From the National Retail Federation, September 19, 2024 Early Halloween shopping is on the rise, with 47% of survey participants beginning their shopping before October, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The figure is up from 37% five years ago and compares with just 32% in 2014. Total Halloween spending is expected to reach $11.6 billion, after last year’s record-setting $12.2 billion. “Halloween marks the official transition to the fall season for many Americans, and consumers are eager to get a jump start on purchasing new seasonal décor and other autumnal items,” NRF Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said. “Retailers are prepared to meet this early demand by offering shoppers all the holiday essentials to make this year’s celebrations memorable.” Early demand for ghouls, ghosts and other Halloween items continues to grow, and the top reasons shared by early shoppers include looking forward to the fall season (48%), avoiding the stress of last-minute shopping (38%) or because Halloween is one of their favorite holidays (37%). “Interest in early Halloween shopping continues to be dominated by the 25-34 age group, with 56% of shoppers in this group kicking off their shopping before October,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said. “Their love of the holiday is a key factor in this trend, with nearly half of this segment sharing that they plan to shop early because Halloween is their favorite holiday.” Seventy-two percent of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween this year, consistent with last year’s record of 73%. Top holiday activities include handing out candy (67%), decorating their home or yard (52%), dressing up in costume (49%), carving a pumpkin (43%) and throwing or attending a party (29%). Those taking part in the spooky season plan to spend an average of $103.63, about $4.62 less than last year’s record of $108.24. Across spending categories, candy remains the most popular with total spending expected to reach $3.5 billion. Total spending on decorations is expected to hit $3.8 billion, followed by costumes ($3.8 billion) and greeting cards ($0.5 billion). Discount stores (37%) remain the top destination to buy Halloween items, followed by specialty Halloween/costume stores (33%) and online (33%). Consistent with last year, total spending on adult costumes is expected to reach $1.8 billion, while spending on children’s costumes is anticipated to hit $1.3 billion. As with previous years, interest in pet costumes remains steady and is projected to reach $0.7 billion. The leading sources of inspiration continue to be online searches (38%), within a retail store or costume shop (28%), and friends and family (20%). READ MORE |
