By Daniel Stefanski |
Americans are spending lots of their money on Halloween festivities in 2023.
A recent study by the National Retail Federation (NRF) showed that there is likely to be $12.2 billion spent on Halloween this year in the United States. This number is an increase from last year’s figure of $10.6 billion.
Halloween spending has recovered from its decline during the COVID-marred year of 2020, where $8 billion was expected to leave the wallets of consumers.
The rise in spending tracks the statistics for the total number of people celebrating on the holiday. Seventy-three percent of Americans are expected to take part in some sort of celebration for Halloween, up from sixty-nine percent in 2022.
“More Americans than ever will be reaching into their wallets and spending a record amount of money to celebrate Halloween this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Consumers will be shopping early for festive décor and other related items and retailers are prepared with the inventory to help customers and their families take part in this popular and fun tradition.”
Phil Rist, the Executive Vice President of Strategy for Prosper Insights & Analytics, also issued a statement in conjunction with the release of the survey that was conducted by his firm. Rist said, “Younger consumers are eager to begin their Halloween shopping, with more than half of those ages 25-44 planning to shop before or during September. Social media continues to grow as a source of costume inspiration for younger consumers, as more people under 25 are turning to TikTok, Pinterest and Instagram for ideas.”
The survey found that each consumer is likely to spend $108.24 this year through the October 31st holiday. Almost seventy percent (69%) of people are projected to buy costumes for Halloween, leading to $4.1 billion of spending. Americans are also likely to shell out $3.9 billion on decorations and $3.6 billion on candy in 2023.
According to the report, “consumers are looking to get an early start on their Halloween shopping” with just under fifty percent (45%) commencing their holiday shopping before the month begins, which is an increase of twelve percent from ten years ago.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
