What Are Halloween Shoppers Buying Near You?

Halloween shoppers are spending more than they did in previous years, but exactly how they’re allocating those funds has some regional variations.

For instance, people who live in the midwest are more likely to decorate their homes or yards than those who live in other parts of the country, while costumes for adults are most common in the western part of the country.

These are among the findings of this year’s Halloween shopping survey by the National Retail Federation.

Halloween Shoppers Near You

In the western part of the U.S.:

• 53% will wear a costume
• 37% will throw or attend a party
• 33% or more plan to use online search to look for costume ideas for themselves, their children and their pets
• $35 is the average amount of spending planned for costumes
• 21% plan to shop for Halloween themed items at department stores
• $27 is the average amount of spending planned for decorations
• $27 is the average amount they will spend for the holiday

Among people living in the midwest:

• 51% plan to decorate their homes and yards for Halloween
• 48% plan to wear a costume
• 34% will take their kids trick-or-treating
• 33% plan to host or attend a party
• 20% will check out Pinterest for Halloween costume ideas
• $24 is the average amount they will spend on the holiday

In the south:

• 48% plan to wear a costume
• 38% plan to use online search to look for costume ideas for themselves, their children and their pets
• 27% plan to shop at department stores for Halloween themed items
• 20% will look to Facebook for costume inspiration

In the northeast:

• 48% plan to wear a costume
• 33% plan to host or attend a party
• 19% plan to use pop culture for their costume inspiration

Costumes and Candy

Meanwhile, trending Halloween costumes appear to be uniform nationwide, according to the NRF survey. Superheroes appear to prevail for both adult and children’s costumes this year, with spending hitting $3.4 billion.

Costumes may be getting the largest aggregate amount of spending, but the largest proportion of households celebrating Halloween will be buying candy, at 95%. This year, $2.7 billion will go toward candy.

Apparently, candy preferences vary by location. We’ve a breakdown on a state-by-state level of the top three choices according to 10 years of sales data on CandyStore.com. It’s not a bad idea to consult the graphic below before shopping for sweets.

Source: CandyStore.com.

Readers, what are your plans for Halloween?