The Economics of Halloween
Come October 31, one shall witness galore of ghosts, goblins, and zombies take over the cold autumn night, their apparition lurking in streets, driveways and on your front porch. Beware, for Halloween is fast approaching! Surprisingly, the trend of spending for this day is equally spooky, for sales skyrocket as the day draws nearer. Here is a peek at statistics of this shopping frenzy event.
Annual Revenue Generated
Projected cost and value of Halloween for 2013 is $6.9 billion
Overall cost and value of Halloween for 2012 was $8.0 billion
Overall cost and value of Halloween for 2011 was $6.86 billion
Halloween Participants
This year, 65.8% i.e. 158 million Americans, will celebrate and participate in Halloween and activities relevant to it, making it slightly less to previous year’s (2012) record high of 71.5% i.e. 170 million people. Interestingly, the participation figure of 2011 was substantially higher in comparison to present year, coming close to 68.6% i.e. 161 million celebrants.
Average Spending of Participants (each year)
2013 – $75.03 per person
2012 – $79.82 per person
2011 – $72.31 per person
People and Choices
72.0% will be prepared to hand out candies
47.5% want to decorate their home and yard
44.2% will engage in carving a pumpkin
43.6% shall dress up in costume
31.7% will take their kids trick or treating
30.9% plan to either throw or attend a party
20.3% look forward to visiting a haunted house
13.8% are eager to dress their pets in costume
Merchandise Sales
Above preferences clearly equate to expenditure, therefore, just how much will be spent on Halloween related products?
On Costumes – Total $2.6 billion
Breakdown in order of participants
Kids – $1.04 billion
Adults – $1.22 billion
Pets – $0.33 million
On Candies – $2.08 billion
On Decorations – $1.96 billion
On Greeting Cards – $0.36 million
Planning and Shopping
All that buying calls for planning. So, when does America start its spending spree?
Shopping Trend
As little as 5.0%, begin before September
There is a steady rise up to 27.8% in mid-September
43.6% shoppers participate in first two weeks of October, making it the busiest
Last two weeks of October sees 23.6% doing last minute shopping
Impact of Economy
The state of the U.S. economy will influence one’s spending plans for Halloween. However, the impact varies consumer to consumer. To what extent does it affect?
Power of Purchasing
25.2% consumers say their buying plans largely depend on the state of the economy
74.8% confirmed their plans would not be affected at all
Economic Influence
In spite of a popular celebration, one fourth of U.S. consumers acknowledge their dependency on the state of the economy. How will its influence be seen?
The Purchase Crunch
86.1% will spend less
32.7% will purchase less candy
19.9% will reuse or repurpose previous year’s decoration
18.1% will make costume(s) instead of buying
15.3% will not participate in most Halloween activities
13.9% will reuse their previous year’s costume(s)
06.1% will avoid giving candy