Spending Surpasses $5 Billion, Costumes and Candy
Still Reign
Washington, DC, September 24, 2007 – Ghosts and goblins won’t be
frightening consumers this year; in fact, many consumers welcome the holiday.
With the year’s spookiest holiday approaching, consumers are looking to
celebrate. According to the National Retail Federation’s Halloween Consumer
Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, consumers are expected
to spend more on Halloween this year than last year, with the average person
planning to spend $64.82 on the holiday compared to $59.06 one year ago. Total
Halloween spending for 2007 is estimated to reach $5.07
billion.*
“Halloween should give retailers a nice boost in sales as they
open the crucial fourth quarter.” said Tracy Mullin, President and CEO of NRF.
“This is the time of year that retailers are at their best, stocking the shelves
with new and innovative product to help consumers celebrate in style.”
Halloween party-goers are bobbing for more than just apples. They’ll
also be on the lookout for candy, costumes and decorations. The average person
will spend $23.33 on Halloween costumes (including children’s and pet’s
costumes), though young adults will spend far more. In fact, according to the
survey, 18-24 year-olds plan to be the most festive, spending $34.06 on
costumes, nearly twice as much as they plan to spend on candy
($19.65).
According to the survey, average spending will rise in all
categories, including candy ($19.84), decorations ($17.73) and greeting cards
($3.92).
“Halloween is often a time for consumers to set aside their real
concerns to focus on the imaginary,” said Phil Rist, Vice President of Strategy
for BIGresearch. “As news about the economy floods the airwaves, many Americans
want to take a break from reality to have a bit of fun.”
The most popular
activity on Halloween this year will be handing out candy, with nearly
three-fourths (72.9%) of consumers planning to stay home to hand out treats.
Other popular activities will include pumpkin carving (43.3%), decorating a home
and/or yard (47.8%), and throwing or attending a Halloween party
(28.3%).
The NRF 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey
was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the
Halloween season. The survey, which polled 8,877 consumers, was conducted for
NRF by BIGresearch from September 4-11. The consumer poll has a margin of error
of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market
intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered
online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch’s syndicated Consumer
Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 7,000 consumers
each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying
opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace. www.bigresearch.com
The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail
trade association, with membership that comprises all retail formats and
channels of distribution including department, specialty, discount, catalog,
Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drug stores and grocery stores
as well as the industry’s key trading partners of retail goods and services. NRF
represents an industry with more than 1.4 million U.S. retail establishments,
more than 23 million employees – about one in five American workers – and 2006
sales of $4.7 trillion. As the industry umbrella group, NRF also represents more
than 100 state, national and international retail associations. www.nrf.com
