Holiday Spending: Halloween
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are changing, the weather is getting brisk, and the smell of pumpkin spiced lattes fills the air. For weeks now, since early August even, Halloween candy and decorations have filled the aisles in our grocery stores and pharmacies. With the holiday receiving more and more mainstream attention, starting earlier and earlier every year, have you ever wondered about the spending that Americans do for Halloween?
How many people participate?
2017 presented a record year in America for the spookiest of holidays. According to The Balance, a record number of Americans, 179 million people, “celebrated” Halloween; that’s over half the country’s population! Last year also hosted the record for amount spent, with over $9.1 billion dollars being spent on Halloween. That includes an all-time high for average spend, and a 30% increase in average spend over the last decade.
What do consumers spend money on?
If someone asks you what you think of when you think of Halloween, chances are candy, costumes, and decorations are three of the top answers that come to mind. That’s understandable, considering that they make up the biggest spending categories for Halloween. Statista reports that even though under 70% of those who celebrate Halloween dress up, it still makes up over a third of the spending Americans do for the holiday at $3.2 billion, including the 16% of people that are also buying costumes for their family pet. Coming in at $2.7 billion, decorations makes up the second most costly category among Halloween spenders. With 22.7% of people visiting haunted houses, popularity in Halloween décor is certainly high. Candy spending is actually the most popular, with over 95% of people buying Halloween candy. However, even with such a large number of people paying for the sweets that we all look to buy half off on November 1st, it still accounts for the lowest spending of the three categories at $2.6 million.
Here are some of the most popular candies and costumes that consumers are purchasing:
Most popular candies in 2017
1. Reese’s Peanut Butter cups
2. Snickers
3. Twix
4. Kit Kat
5. M&Ms
Most popular costumes in 2017 (adults)
1. Witch
2. Vampire
3. Zombie
4. Pirate
5. Avengers character
Most popular costumes in 2017 (children)
1. Princess
2. Superhero
3. Batman
4. Star Wars character
5. Witch
Government Halloween Spend
Although Halloween spending is primarily done by consumers, that doesn’t mean that local government agencies are devoid of it completely. While Halloween does not seem to be as popular as the 4th of July for government spending, there are still some creepy events that local governments need to secure vendors for. Like other event planning in procurement, the responses were required months before the actual holiday. In May of 2018, the City of Royal Oak, Michigan sought a qualified event production firm to develop and manage the Royal Oak Halloween Spooktacular event. Likewise, the Kentucky Horse Park sought a vendor to run its Haunted Trail at the campgrounds, with the solicitation closing in January 2018.
And candy? NIGP Code 39334- Candy, Confectionery and Marshmallows has seen 192 bids already this year close by local and state government agencies. With nearly 300 registered vendors offering candy, there are plenty of vendors ready to provide local organizations with all sorts of sugary goodness.
This Halloween remember to Creep it real, and nobody likes getting pennies or toothbrushes in their candy bag.
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