How much do Americans spend on Halloween? The numbers might startle you. 172 million Americans were estimated to celebrate Halloween last year and were estimated to spend $10.1 billion on the holiday.

Long gone are the days when Halloween was just for kids dressed as ghosts and goblins roaming the streets ringing doorbells for candy. In fact, this year millennials are most likely to celebrate Halloween. If you have ever taken a stroll down Broadway on a Halloween night, you wouldn’t find that stat above at all shocking. Even though it is not the most expensive holiday, the money spent on Halloween and its related expenses surpasses $10 billion nationally.

This year 65% of Americans are expected to celebrate Halloween, and those celebrating plan to spend an average of $102.74. This means that around $6.3 billion is projected to be spent on costumes and candy alone.

These are just a few of the facts. So, let's go through some interesting numbers on how much consumers expect to spend to create a spooky experience this year.

How Much Do Americans Spend on Halloween Costumes and Decorations?

Nine out of ten millennials plan to celebrate Halloween to some degree. However, how these younger consumers celebrate the festival has shifted enormously. While a handful of them plan to host or attend parties, more are looking forward to decorating their houses, handing out candy, and dressing in costumes.

But how much do Americans spend on Halloween costumes? Halloween costume spending in 2021 was estimated to reach $3.3 billion. And only 46% will wear a costume. The witch costume ranks highest on adult charts, with more than 4.6 million adults planning to be a witch. In addition, 52% of Americans plan to decorate their homes, which means $3.17 billion in annual spending on decorations, the highest amount in the past four years.

How Much Do Americans Spend on Pet Costumes?

Dressing up pets might sound weird to some, but its growing popularity over the years has turned this trend into a huge business. 1-in-5 people are expected to buy costumes for pets, and 10% of them are buying the most popular pet costume—the pumpkin. Coming in second and third place as the most popular pet costumes are superheroes and hot dogs—because every pet is a superhero in their owner's heart. With the three most popular pet costumes and the hundreds of other adorable options, Americans will spend $490 million this year dressing up their pets.

How Much Do Americans Spend on Halloween Candy and Activities?

Halloween candy spending in 2021 was estimated to surpass $3 billion. 66% of Americans planned to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. In addition, 44% of Americans plan to carve a pumpkin, with an average retail price of a pumpkin expected at $4.83. $300+ million annual revenue is expected from ticket sales for haunted attractions, 80% of which are run by charities.

Halloween certainly isn't the most expensive holiday on the calendar. But, the overall spend numbers are raking in billions. You should definitely explore a few ways to keep the high cost of costumes and candy under control. Handmade costumes and buying candy in bulk may help prevent Halloween from haunting your bank account.

What Does This Mean for Halloween Retailers?

Halloween spending is going up, but it looks like the money is more focused on home decorations and passing out candy than on dressing up and going out. This could simply be a result of inflation hitting certain products harder than others, but it could also be a sign of a slight shift toward staying in on Halloween.

So, for non-seasonal Halloween retailers that are only looking to capitalize by offering a few themed products, it seems the better focus will be on decor and candy. Overall, Halloween retailers can rest easy knowing that there will still be plenty of spending around the holiday season.

No matter what you sell in your spooky storefront, you might be wondering how to best take advantage of the money being spent on the holiday. With October, November, and December all being holiday months, many Americans are looking to finance some of their holiday spendings. By partnering with a cutting-edge fintech, getting a consumer financing program up and running before the holidays is a breeze regardless of if you sell online or in-store.

Leverage Halloween Spending Trends With Skeps

Skeps offers a comprehensive, end-to-end consumer financing program that helps businesses modernize their entire payment process. We go above and beyond one-click payment, also offering a one-click application process for several different types of consumer financing, including:

• Buy now, pay later (BNPL)
• Store credit cards
• Consumer loans and leases

If you’re looking to partner with a forward-thinking fintech company that will keep consumers' eyes on the purchase while offering best-in-class financing, Skeps is the perfect fit.