(WTAJ) ā The holiday season used to kick off with major shopping day Black Friday, but with massive spending on costumes and decorations, Halloween may officially be lumped in with high-dollar holidays.
Despite a sluggish economy, shoppers are showing no signs of cutting back on purchasing costumes, candy and Halloween decor. Between rising costs and growing popularity among consumers, Halloween has turned into a billion-dollar holiday.
“In 2024, $11.6 billion in revenue was generated in the United States due to Halloween. That’s billion with a B” said Martin McDermott, a professor of Marketing at Purdue Global who has been studying the Halloween franchise. “The National Retail Federation (NRF) this year is predicting $13.1 billion in sales due to Halloween related products.”
Inflation adds up, but major retailers like Walmart said Halloween falling on a Friday this year could be another driving factor behind the increased spending.
“What we’re seeing are folks, they’re very interested in decorating and celebrating and having parties this year because they have that advantage of the weekend,” said Shelley Christianson, Senior Director of Customer Insight and Strategy for Walmart.
McDermott agrees that spending goes far beyond trick-or-treat.
“In the United States, the numbers indicate that 70% of the market participates in some type of Halloween activity and of those 70% in the United States, the average sale, the NRF states that they’ll spend an average of $114 per person,” McDermott said.
This Halloween, costumes and decorations are projected to be the top spending category for shoppers, each drawing in around $3.8 billion. Shoppers are also expected to spend around $3.5 billion on candy, both for themselves and trick-or-treaters. Another nearly $2 billion will be spent on party favors, Halloween-themed greeting cards and toys, treats and costumes for pets.
“With everything going on too, with a little bit of the uncertainty out there in the environment, it’s holidays or change of seasons bring about that happiness. It brings about the tradition. It brings about nostalgia,” Christianson said.
According to experts, consumers aren’t diverting spending away from other holidays. In fact, Christmas spending could top $1 trillion this year.
“How much is the expectation for people to spend on holiday shopping, which is $890, with some $630, being earmarked for gifts and the rest for decor and food and candy and so on. But that is per person. That’s not even a household, that’s per person,” said Johanna Slot, Associate Clinical Professor of Marketing at Penn State.
That spending is starting early, with some shoppers already making their list and checking off popular gift items.
“Definitely the season is drawing out in earlier purchasing, so even in July, you know, there were a portion of customers that said they were looking for holiday deals for their family,” Christianson said.
According to Slot, about 40% of consumers have already started their holiday shopping. She believes consumers are stretching out their spending, shopping early because both because the items they want are available and because it could be easier on their budget, with many consumers worried about the economy.
“Economic pressure, say inflation, tariffs and maybe the fear of additional tariffs or inflation. Consumers just like to beat that and hope to get a deal, essentially by starting their shopping early,” Slot said.
But the gifts under the tree could look a little different this year, in part due to economic pressures. Slot said instead of TVs, gaming systems and high-end luxury items, consumers are expected to make more practical purchases for gifts such as kitchen appliances, bedding or cheaper luxury goods like perfume and cosmetics.
The early shopping trend has not carried over into all areas. Bedford Candies said the traditional holiday shopping window has remained their busy season.
“Especially from the corporate level, to do corporate sales in September and October. For a lot of bigger orders that take longer production times to do, especially if it’s like a custom, item that we’re building for them. But from the retail level, we really don’t even see that start to take until about the week before Thanksgiving is where you start to see that ramp up. People getting party favors for Thanksgiving dinner, that kind of thing. But then it’s really Thanksgiving through Christmas where it really just takes off,” said Adam Wiley, Owner of Bedford Candies.
The good news is if you haven’t started shopping yet, experts said you can still count on big deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, unless you fall into the 12% of shoppers who will still be hunting for the perfect gift at the last minute.
