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National
Retail Federation |
Click here for complete survey results.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kathy Grannis or
Email: grannisk@nrf.com or krugmans@nrf.com
As Halloween
Shifts to Seasonal Celebration,
Retailers Not Spooked by Surge in Spending
--Spending Nears $5
Billion Due to Increase in Celebrations--
The spending increase is largely due to a surge in celebrating. According to
the survey, nearly two-thirds (63.8%) of consumers will celebrate Halloween
this year, a noticeable rise over the 52.5 percent that celebrated in 2005.
Halloween activities will range from handing out candy (73.4%) to dressing in
costume (34.0%) and visiting a haunted house (17.2%). In addition to a rise in
celebrations, per-person spending is also increasing: the average consumer
plans to spend $59.06 on Halloween, compared to $48.48 last year.
“Consumers see Halloween as a seasonal celebration to bridge the gap between
the end of summer and the winter holidays,” said Tracy Mullin, President and
CEO of NRF. “Halloween offers a little something for everyone and, this
year, people of all ages will be joining in the fun.”
Maintaining its spot as the second-biggest decorating holiday of the year after
Christmas, decorations continue to be a strong category as 67.0 percent of
consumers plan to purchase Halloween décor and almost half (48.6%) plan to
decorate their home or yard. Additionally, most people (95.7%) will be
scooping up plenty of candy, with the average consumer spending $18.72 in that
category. Costumes are also expected to increase in popularity this year
with consumers spending $21.57 to dress up as their favorite alter-ego.
The popularity of Halloween among young adults continues to surge for the
second year in a row. This year, 85.3 percent of 18-24 year olds plan to
celebrate the holiday, up from 66.8 percent last year. But they aren’t the only
ones taking advantage of the ghoulish fun—76.5 percent of consumers aged 25-34
and 71.3 percent of 35-44 year-olds will be joining in the fun.
“Halloween has especially exploded among young adults who are celebrating with
large parties and elaborate costumes, driving spending and bringing good news
for retailers,” said
Though growing, Halloween remains the sixth-largest spending holiday after:
Winter Holidays ($457.4 billion estimated), Valentine's Day ($13.70 billion),
Easter ($12.63 billion), Mother's Day ($13.80 billion), and Father's Day ($9.01
billion). Because it is not a gift-giving holiday or an apparel holiday, it
ranks lower than other annual holidays in terms of spending.
About the Survey
The NRF 2006 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed
to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Halloween. The
survey, which polled 8,001 consumers, was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from
September 6 –13, 2006. 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
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