Halloween spending 2022 seems to be on the rise as Halloween participation returns to pre-pandemic levels this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
What does that mean for retailers and for those businesses that rely on in-person participation? Let's find out.
Halloween by the Numbers for 2022
Prosper Insights & Analytics survey shows that 69% of people are planning to celebrate in some way. The breakdown is as follows:
Planning to hand out candy – 67% in 2022, up from 66% in 2021 but down from 69% pre-pandemic.
Decorate – 51% in 2022, down from 52% during the pandemic but up from 49% pre-pandemic.
Dress up – 47% in 2022, up from 46% in 2021 and even with pre-pandemic levels.
Carve a pumpkin – 44% in 2022, even with 2021 and pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Down slightly from 46% in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
Throw/Attend a party – 28% in 2022, up from 25% in 2021 and 22% in 2020, but below pre-pandemic levels of 28%.
Total Expected Halloween Spending
Total spending across several categories looks promising for retailers in 2022.
Costumes – $4.6 billion
Candy – $3.1 billion
Decorations – $3.4 billion
Greeting cards – $0.6 billion
Retailers have certainly felt the pain over the last two years as the pandemic halted many people's activities, caused massive cancellations, and generally led to poor retail performance across all holidays for over two years. It's certainly nice to see the trends reversing and getting back to some normalcy. We would expect to see this trend continue into Christmas and the new year.
2022 Top Halloween Costumes
Dressing up appears to be back in style for 2022 for children, adults, and pets. For adults, witch costumes take the top spot. For children, Spiderman seems to be the winner this year. And for pets, pumpkin gets the nod. What will you be this year? Let us know in the comments.
Costume Spending
Costume spending when broken down by category for 2022; with children and pet costumes making the biggest bounceback to pre-pandemic or higher levels.
Halloween Spending 2022 Wrap-up
It's nice to see that the country can recover and move past something as massive as the pandemic and begin to show a promising return to a holiday that is simply fun and exciting. The retail industry has been hammered over the last two-plus years and yet is still standing, still fighting. Please help your local businesses during this time and keep them prospering as we approach the holidays. Remember, shop small.
Read the entire press release here: https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/halloween-participation-returns-pre-pandemic-levels-record-spending
