Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Halloween just got a little scarier

It is a known fact that Americans are Halloween crazy. Indeed, according to Alliance Data Retail Services, Halloween is the fourth most popular consumer holiday -- after Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter -- here in the United States. Frightening.

And check out these scary statistics: Americans are expected to spend $2.6 billion (that's billion, with a b) on Halloween costumes in 2013 -- $1.04 billion on children's costumes and a whopping $1.22 billion on adult Halloween costumes. Plus another $330 million on Halloween costumes for their pets. (I'm looking at you, dog owners).

Remarkably, those sales forecasts mark a decrease from 2012 Halloween spending. Talk about scary.

In addtion, according to the National Retail Federation, by October 31, 2013, Americans will have spent $1.96 billion on Halloween decorations. That's a lot of pumpkins, fake cobwebs, skeletons -- and feet sticking out of your trunk.

Or one very over-the-top Halloween Light Show synched to "The Fox (What does the fox say?)"



[Okay, perhaps I exaggerated. But I'm scared to see their electric bill.]

Man, am I glad I am not their neighbors. (Something I will be thankful for come Thanksgiving.) Though I will admit, that is an impressive Halloween Light Show.

So, what do you all have planned for Halloween this year?

1 comment:

Dave S. said...

My only surprise is that Easter beat it for third place. I would have thought that Halloween was more secularized.

Christmas, meanwhile, is the holiday for everyone.