Daniel MunozNorthJersey.com
How much do you spend on Halloween? If you're like most Americans, it'll be somewhere north of $100.
Nationwide, the average person is expected to lay out $108.24 for Halloween, as spending on this scary holiday is predicted to break past pre-pandemic levels in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation.
All told, Americans will spend over $12.2 billion this Halloween, the NRF predicted, on items ranging from candy to costumes to decorations.
“More Americans than ever will be reaching into their wallets and spending a record amount of money to celebrate Halloween this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a September statement.
What are we buying for Halloween?
Here's how the NRF said spending is expected to break down:
- Candy: $3.6 billion.
- Costumes: $4.1 billion.
- Decorations: $3.9 billion.
“Consumers will be shopping early for festive décor and other related items, and retailers are prepared with the inventory to help customers and their families take part in this popular and fun tradition,” Shay said.
And what kind of candy? In New Jersey, at least, it will be Tootsie Pops, M&M’s and then Skittles, according to a recent post by the website CandyStore that rated New Jersey’s favorite Halloween candy.
Related: Skeletons are everywhere on Halloween. Here are some to chill you to the bone
Should you go into debt for Halloween?
WalletHub had a less rosy outlook of the upcoming holiday, saying in a Tuesday report that one in five Americans felt Halloween was worth going into debt for. At the same time, 77% of Americans said they were planning on spending less on Halloween this year than last year, amid inflation and the cost of living.
That survey relied on 400 respondents interviewed by WalletHub between Oct. 2 and 6 this year.
“Although nearly one in five Americans think Halloween is worth going into debt for … this particular holiday is unlikely to push credit card balances too high," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. "Beaten down by inflation and record-high interest rates, 77% of people say they plan to spend less on Halloween this year than they did last year."
“The real test will be the other holidays between Halloween and New Year’s Day, as that’s when we traditionally rack up the most debt. Right now, debt levels are reasonable, but we may be singing a different tune come 2024.”
Related: Visit Halloween homes in North Jersey to see outrageous and dastardly decorations
Halloween spending, when and where
Here are a few more fun facts about Halloween spending:
- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 1.9 million people under the age of 18 in New Jersey as of 2022 who could be potential trick-or-treaters.
- As of 2021, the state had 13 chocolate and confectionery stores, 138 confectionery and nut stores, and 30 formal wear and costume stores, the U.S. Census Bureau said.
- According to the website Upgraded Points, 30.9% of New Jerseyans started their online Halloween shopping between July and September.
- Another 60.3% of New Jerseyans did their shopping in October, and 8.7% of New Jerseyans did their shopping throughout the rest of the year.
Halloween keeps getting earlier
Halloween in the summer became an increasingly time-honored tradition, with Spirit Halloween opening its first store this year in Egg Harbor Township in August, and stores like Wegmans already putting out decorations by then.
“It’s about getting the money first, getting the shopper spending first” at their store, Candace Corlett, president of WSL Strategic Retail, a New York City-based industry analyst and consultant, said in an interview over the summer.
“The thinking around the spending early, and when those bags of candy are piled up … how many families buy them and finish them before Halloween,” she said. “So it’s like infinite consumption.”
But David Marcotte, senior vice president for marketing analytics company Kantar, said the practice was more because of inventory and supply chain.
Retailers looked at the threat of a railroad strike last December and the COVID-19 lockdowns across China and ordered holiday-related merchandise early this year.
“It’s really more: I got to get it out of the warehouse — if I put anything in the warehouse, there’s a lot of opportunity in the warehouse for product to get damaged, so you want to get it out of there. Putting it in the store is safer,” Marcotte said.
“When you have that much uncertainty, you move up your schedule,” he said. "It’s been that way for years."
Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.
Email:[email protected]; Twitter:@danielmunoz100
