By ,
Published November 27, 2016
According to a new poll from the National Retail Federation (NRF), Americans will shell out $8.4 billion on treats, costumes, pumpkins and demonic décor this Halloween season—an 11 year record. That’s about $82.93 per shopper. Last year, Americans spent an average of $74.34.
“Retailers are preparing for the day by offering a wide variety of options in costumes, decorations and candy, while being aggressive with their promotions to capture the most out of this shopping event,” Matthew Shay, NRF’s president and CEO, said in a statement.
The biggest bulk of spending will go toward costumes ($3.1 billion), while $2.5 billion will be spent on candy and other edibles. Decorations will set consumers back by about $2.4 billion. Americans will also spend an estimated $390 million on ghoulish greeting cards.
According to the poll, looking for a costume in a traditional brick-and-mortar store or browsing websites is still the most popular way to find a cool get up.
And how will people celebrate?
Nearly three-fourths of respondents say they plan to hand out candy, 47 percent will dress up, 46 percent will carve a pumpkin and 34 percent will attend a party. Despite the early September proliferation of orange foods and candy in stores, most survey respondents say they won’t be shopping for any Halloween items until October.
The annual poll, which the NRF has commissioned since 2005, asked over 6,700 shoppers about their Halloween habits. More than 71 million Americans are expected to partake in Halloween celebrations this year.
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/americans-expected-to-shell-out-over-8-billion-on-halloween-this-year