Halloween spending could benefit store brands

U.S. consumers are looking to social media for Halloween costume and decoration ideas as spending is expected to reach a near-record amount this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) annual survey on Halloween spending conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.

Shoppers revealed in the survey that they will spend an average of $86.27, down slightly from last year’s record $86.79. That works out to $8.8 billion in total spending, down from last year’s $9 billion. This year’s total is expected to be the third-highest in the survey’s 15-year history, after the record $9.1 billion set in 2017. A total of 172 million people plan to celebrate Halloween — 68% of those surveyed — down from 175 million last year.

“Spending hasn’t changed much over the past few years, but we are seeing a noticeable increase in consumers whose Halloween purchases are inspired by their friends, neighbors and even celebrities on social media,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Retailers expect to have another strong Halloween season and have stocked up on candy, decorations and the season’s most popular costumes.”

Many of the items that retailers sell for Halloween are store brands.

The survey also revealed that consumers are planning to spend $3.2 billion on costumes (purchased by 67% of Halloween shoppers), $2.6 billion on candy (95%), $2.7 billion on decorations (72%) and $390 million on greeting cards (34%).

The survey found 3.1 million children plan to dress up as their favorite princess, 2.4 million as their favorite superhero, 2 million as Spider-Man,1.5 million as an Avengers character other than Spider-Man and 1.4 million as Batman.

The survey found 5 million adults plan to dress like a witch, 2 million as a vampire, 1.8 million as a superhero, 1.5 million as a pirate and 1.4 million as a zombie.