Do Americans Spend Too Much On Halloween? The Data Is Alarming

Some people thrive during summer holidays, counting down the days until they can gather around a barbecue and enjoy a long three-day weekend relaxing at the beach. Others prefer the celebrations of winter, breaking out the tree the day after Thanksgiving while blasting holiday tunes. Still, there's yet another population that's particularly passionate about their favorite time of year: Halloween lovers.

For fans of spooky season, their yearly excitement usually begins brewing like a witch's cauldron sometime in August, when stores like HomeGoods and Party City begin to stock their shelves with ghoulish merchandise, and Spirit Halloweens take over closed-down properties across the country. Though Halloween typically doesn't involve gift-giving or cooking a large family meal, the holiday is chock-full of things to buy, from costumes and candy to lights and larger-than-life animatronics.

Indeed, while many Americans today might be living paycheck to paycheck (this is the best way to save if you are), Halloween spending in the U.S. remains at an all-time high.

According to the National Retail Federation's Halloween Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Americans are expected to spend $11.6 billion on Halloween in 2024, which averages out to $104 per person. This includes an anticipated $3.8 billion spent on costumes, $3.8 billion on decorations, $3.5 billion on Halloween candy, and $500 million on greeting cards. The total of $11.6 billion is slightly down from 2023's $12.2 billion, but up from 2022's $10.6 billion.

Regarding last year's Halloween spending habits, a few trends emerged, according to research by Capital One Shopping. Amazon (61%) and Walmart (39%), for example, were U.S. consumers' go-to retailers for costumes, especially the top-selling Spider-Man, which was worn by 2.6 million people. As for candy, Reese's Cups are consistently a favorite among consumers around this time of year, with 3.48 million pounds of peanut-butter goodness purchased in 10 states in 2022.

Additionally, the NRF found in its 2023 study that 32% of respondents planned to either attend or host their own Halloween party, which comes with the costs of securing costumes, snacks, beverages, games, etc. Philip Rist, a retail analyst and executive vice president of strategy at Prosper Insights & Analytics, told the BBC, "The last time that number was anywhere near there was 2019, right before the pandemic." This shows that, although many in the U.S. are struggling financially, partaking in some Halloween cheer is a must.

From DIY-ing your own costume to obtaining quality-yet-affordable décor pieces from the local dollar store or Five Below, there are certainly ways to celebrate a budget-friendly Halloween. At the same time, retailers give customers the option to shell out hundreds — sometimes thousands — of dollars on spooky merchandise that, if they're not careful with their Halloween budgets, can cause them to experience a seasonal bout with the aptly named lifestyle creep.

Case in point, for 2024, Spirit Halloween released an online-exclusive Undead Mystic animatronic by Beastcraft. Standing at 5 feet 2 inches tall and sporting a blue robe, this rotting skeleton, despite costing $1,450, sold out. Also by Beastcraft (and selling out, too) was the Green Ghost animatronic, which set shoppers back slightly more at $1,500. Measuring 4 feet 2 inches tall, this product can be mounted to a wall for a nightmarish floating effect.

Then there's Home Depot's iconic 12-foot-tall skeleton, aka Skelly. Though this posable prop is a more affordable $299, getting your hands on one can prove difficult. Since Skelly's debut in 2020, he's been a must-have item for Halloween lovers, who consistently sell him out ... even when it's not the fall season. This year, during Home Depot's Halfway to Halloween event in April, for example, customers stayed up all night refreshing the page in hopes of snagging a Skelly of their own before he was gone. Though the popular skeleton is sure to sell out again, long before Halloween arrives (customers are limited to one per order to try and keep him in stock), there are alternative 12-foot skeletons on Amazon, if you're willing to spend nearly double the price.