Halloween is back and more popular than ever, according to a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Consumers are expected to spend about $108.24 per person this spooky season and a record setting 73% of them plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from 69% last year.
“The big picture is that Halloween is more popular than ever,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights. “But if we look before the pandemic, before lockdowns and all of that happened, just 68% of adults were celebrating,” she said. “So, we’ve really seen an increase in the holiday’s popularity, and that is what’s driving spending this year.”
“About a third of U. S. adults who are celebrating say that they plan to attend or host a party,” said Cullen, “and then parents are turning out in force to trick-or-treat with their kids, so it really does feel like Halloween is back.” The trend of dressing pets up for Halloween seems to be leveling off, said Cullen. Spending for pet costumes added up to around $700 million, about the same as 2022.
If you haven’t decided on a costume yet, Google says these are the top Halloween costumes for 2023:
- Barbie
- Princess
- Spider-Man
- Witch
- Fairy
- Wednesday Addams
- Dinosaur
- Cowboy
- Ninja
- Bunny
Witches are the most popular costume in the Quad Cities and in Rockford. Dinosaur is a top costume choice for Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Iowa City/Dubuque. Peoria prefers bunnies while ninjas are the favorite in Quincy and Keokuk.
For more retail Halloween statistics, click here.
