NRF Study Finds 2015 Halloween Spending to Decrease Slightly

Posted on October 26, 2015

A new study has found that Americans will spending slightly less on average for Halloween this year than last year. The National Retail Federation's Halloween Consumer Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics found total spending will reach $6.9 billion this year. The average person will spend $74.34, a decrease of over 4% from last year.

The biggest spending is on costumes and candy. Consumers will spend $2.5 billion on costumes and $2.1 billion on candy. Decorations come in next at $1.9 billion. $330 million is projected to spent on greeting cards. The survey found that about two in five Halloween celebrants will decorate their home or yard. With cute pumpkin displays like these from Walmart and Trader Joe's it is easy to see why people get excited about Halloween decorating.

Halloween merchandise arrived at stores early this year. Consumers tend to like this because it shows summer is coming to an end and fall is on the horizon. Prosper Insights Principal Analyst Pam Goodfellow said in a statement, "People shouldn’t be too surprised when they see Halloween candy and decorations available in stores as early as September first. Given that more than a third of Americans enjoy taking advantage of early-bird deals to kick off their fall celebrations, it seems there's plenty of appetite among consumers to enjoy a perfectly 'frightful' Halloween."

Consumers love to see shelves full of Halloween products. However, it can be frustrating when the Halloween merchandise is pulled and replaced with Christmas items before Halloween has even arrived. Retailers need to keep those shelves stocked this year for people looking for last-minute Halloween decorations and treats.


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