Retailers could get a shot in the arm from consumer spending on Halloween products, should a survey from the National Retail Federation prove true.
Consumers are expected to spend $8.4 billion on their Halloween needs this year, the highest figure in the history of the annual NRF survey, which was conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. Shoppers are expected to spend an average of $82.93 this year, up from $74.34 in 2015.
According to the survey, consumers plan to spend $3.1 billion on costumes, $2.5 billion on candy, $2.4 billion on decorations and $390 million on greeting cards.
“After a long summer, families are excited to welcome the fall season celebrating Halloween,” said Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO. “Retailers are preparing for the day by offering a wide variety of options in costumes, decorations and candy, while being aggressive with their promotions to capture the most out of this shopping event.”
When it comes to where consumers will shop for the season, 47% of shoppers will visit discount stores to buy their holiday-related items this year and 36% will visit a specialty Halloween/costume store, up from 33% last year. In addition, 26% of customers will visit grocery stores and supermarkets, 23% will visit department stores and 22% will shop online.
The survey asked 6,791 consumers about Halloween shopping plans. It was conducted September 6-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
