Halloween is the kickoff to the American holiday season, and consumers are expected to spend $12.2 billion on it this year.

Consumers are expected to outspend not only last year, but also pre-pandemic levels.

Holiday shopping is beginning early for most, with 45% of consumers claiming to start purchasing before October, up from 33% last year.

Individual consumers are expected to spend an average of $108.24 per person, which is $3.50 more than in 2021.

“Younger consumers are eager to begin their Halloween shopping, with more than half of those ages 25-44 planning to shop before or during September,” Prosper Executive Vice President of Strategy Phil Rist said.

Costume purchases are driving the increase in spending this year.

Of consumers, 69% are expected to buy costumes this year with a total of $4.1 billion being spent on them.

Spending on adult and children’s costumes is expected to jump by 18% and 20% from last year.

Many costumes are being influenced by major pop culture moments of the year, such as the release of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie. Social media and online browsing are also sources for costume inspiration.

The most popular adult costumes this year are witch, vampire, Barbie, Batman and a cat.

The most popular children’s costumes this year are Spiderman, princess, ghost, superhero and witch.

For those planning to dress up their pet, they’re likely to choose a pumpkin, hot dog, bat, bumblebee or spider.

Halloween décor has grown in popularity since the pandemic, with 77% of people planning to purchase some this year. This is on par with the purchasing trends seen since 2020.

(Contributed/consolidatedcredit.org)

Other spooky season areas that consumers are expected to spend on are handing out candy or trick-or-treating ($3.6 billion), themed greeting cards ($500 million) and going out or throwing parties.

For more information, check out the National Retail Federation’s full survey at https://nrf.com .

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