Consumer trends in Halloween shopping and celebration

Halloween is right around the corner, but the holiday’s festive frights now go beyond Oct. 31 to haunt the entire season — and shoppers are already getting ready for tricks and treats.

Seventy-two percent of consumers are planning to celebrate Halloween this year, according to data from NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics. They’re planning to spend an average of $103.63 per person, and total spending is expected to reach $11.6 billion. Read on for more about how consumers are celebrating and shopping for Halloween all season long.

Creeping up the calendar

We’re all familiar with “Christmas creep” or early back-to-school shopping, but a jumpstart to the season isn’t usually associated with Halloween. Yet, the data tells a different story: This year, 47% of consumers planned to shop Halloween costumes, décor and more before October even began, very different from just 32% 10 years ago or 40% five years ago.

The top reason shoppers browse and buy more than a month in advance? They’re looking forward to fall. Halloween has become more than just a single day — it’s now an entire season synonymous with all things autumn. And whether it’s Starbucks releasing its pumpkin spice latte earlier than ever or Crate & Barrel declaring that “spooky is a whole season,” retailers are delivering the extended Halloween shoppers want.

Halloween’s biggest fans

No one has embraced “the season of Halloween” more than 25- to 34-year-olds. This age group is more likely than any other to get an early start on the holiday, with 56% planning to start shopping Halloween items before October.

While these shoppers also embrace the fall feels, they are significantly more likely to say that they shop early because Halloween is one of their favorite holidays. That’s no surprise — at 86%, they are the age group most likely to celebrate Halloween and they spend an average of $124.43 per person on the holiday, about $20 more than consumers overall.

In keeping with this, they are also more likely to put out their porch pumpkins or spooky décor early, with 37% planning to decorate before October, compared with 27% of all shoppers.

Decorations are amping up spending

While not everyone may want a larger-than-life skeleton in their yard all season long, Halloween decorations have been top of mind for shoppers.

More consumers than ever started buying Halloween décor during the pandemic, helping to drive record growth, and now continue to shop for and spend on these items. In fact, from 2019 to 2024, total spending on Halloween decorations increased by 42% — from $2.7 billion to $3.8 billion — while total spending on the holiday grew by 32% during the same time period.

Retailers are catering to the hype. Michael’s offers several décor collections for shoppers to choose from and Spirit Halloween has elaborate displays to inspire consumers’ décor dreams (or nightmares!).

For more insights into consumers’ Halloween shopping plans, visit NRF’s Halloween Headquarters for additional trends and data.