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Scary, but at a price.
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One of the scariest aspects of Halloween this year may be the amount people plan to spend on their celebrations. Consumers are expected to spend an average of US$56.3, down from US$66.5 last year. Total spending on Holiday 2009 is expected to hit US$4.7 billion, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
Nearly one in three (29.6%) consumers say the state of the US economy will impact their Halloween spending plans ahead of the big day on 31 October.
Some 88% plan to spend less overall, while others say they will be buying less candy (46.5%), using last year's decorations without buying new ones (35.4%), and making costumes or reusing them instead of buying new ones (16.8% and 15.8% respectively).
The survey finds that fewer people plan to celebrate Halloween this year (62.1% as compared to 64.5% last year) and those who are celebrating will participate in fewer activities.
Creative vampires, police and pirates
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Vamping the party.
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When it comes to Halloween costumes, the emphasis is going to be on creativity, according to the NRF. Vampires, princesses, police officers and pirates are "in", while politicians, nurses and Batman are out.
Around 47 million adults and 58 million children across the US plan to dress up for Halloween this year.
Once again, witches take the top spot for adult costumes, with 18.1%. Thanks to popular books, movies and television series, vampire costumes jumped to the number two spot from third.
Hardest hit this year will be nurse costumes, which fell from number five to number 13, and political figures, which didn't even make the list.
For children, make-believe takes the top spot for the fifth year in a row with 4.5 million princesses expected to flood the streets in pink dresses and tiaras on Halloween.
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Topping the lists on Halloween. |
Those handing out candy will also see an estimated two million witches, 1.3 million Spidermen, and one million pirates, pumpkins and vampires.
For pets, a pumpkin will be the top choice, with devils and witches near the top of the list.
The number of people carving a pumpkin will also drop to 42.4% compared to 44.6% last year. Additionally, fewer people will throw or attend a party (30.2% against 31.1% in 2008), visit a haunted house (17.0% as against 18.1% in 2008) and hand out candy (71.2% against 73.7% last year).
Even with the advent of life-sized yard decorations, which have become immensely popular in recent years, fewer people plan to decorate their home or yard (47.3% compared to 50.3% in 2008).
Young adults, who were last year's big spenders for Halloween, plan to scale back dramatically this year. According to the survey, the average 18 to 24 group will spend US$68.5 on the holiday, compared to US$86.5 last year.
The NRF 2009 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the Halloween season. The surveys were conducted for NRF by BIGresearch. The poll of 8,526 consumers was conducted from 1 to 9 September, 2009, with the consumer poll expecting a margin of error of plus or minus 1%.
Down trend for Christmas
Earlier, the NRF released its 2009 full Holiday forecast, projecting retail sales to decline 1% this year to US$437.6 billion. While this number falls significantly below the ten-year average of 3.3% Holiday season growth, the decline is not expected to be as dramatic as last year's 3.4% drop nor as severe as the 3% decline in annual retail industry sales expected for the whole of 2009.
As the global economy seemingly recovers from the economic downturn, Americans are expected to focus on practical gifts and shop on a budget this season.
As retailers become more promotional, certain popular Holiday categories like apparel and electronics may experience deflation due to aggressive sales.
from Bridget Lee, Chicago Office
