A survey commissioned by the NRF (National Retail Federation) expects sales of Halloween products to reach $9 billion in 2018. This number is about the same as last year’s record of $9.1 billion and suggests the strong U.S. economy should help retailers ring up record sales throughout the 2018 holiday season. Among the findings:
- 68% of buyers will purchase costumes ($3.2 billion in sales), 74% will buy decorations ($2.7 billion), 95% will stock up on candy ($2.6 billion), and 35% of shoppers will spend $400 million on greeting cards.
- 2 million Americans will purchase costumes for their pets. This is a growing trend among millennials (25-34) and is the highest number seen in the history of this survey.
- 35% of shoppers will look online for Halloween costume inspiration looking at Facebook (16%), Pinterest (16%), YouTube (15%) and pop culture.
- About 25% of all Halloween supplies are bought online.
- The survey also provided a top-10 list of popular costumes:
Costumes Ranked: Children
- Princess – 7.6%
- Superhero – 4.9%
- Batman – 4.3%
- Star Wars character – 3.7%
- Witch – 3.6%
- Spider-Man – 3.5%
- Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 3.2%
- Ghost – 2.9%
- Pirate – 2.0%
- Frozen (Elsa, Anna) – 1.7%
Costumes Ranked: Adults
- Witch – 10.7%
- Vampire – 3.7%
- Zombie -3.1%
- Pirate – 2.9%
- Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 2.0%
- Batman – 2.0%
- Star Wars character – 1.9%
- Ghost – 1.8%
- Superhero – 1.8%
- Clown – 1.6%
- Wonder Woman – 1.5%
Costumes Ranked: Pets
- Pumpkin – 11.2%
- Hot dog – 7.4%
- Bumblebee – 4.9%
- Devil – 3.2%
- Cat – 3.1%
- Dog – 3.1%
- Lion – 2.9%
- Star Wars character – 2.8%
- Superhero – 2.7%
- Ghost – 2.5%