What Americans Spend on Halloween Every Year

By any measure, Halloween is big business. It’s a month-long retail ritual that now rivals some winter holidays in merchandising power, fueled by costumes, candy, yard-sized décor, and a steady drip of pop-culture inspiration. In 2025, Americans are set to push Halloween spending to another all-time high — and the story of how we got here says a lot about today’s consumer economy.

The Size Of The Scare: A Record 2025

The National Retail Federation (NRF) expects U.S. consumers to spend $13.1 billion on Halloween in 2025 — a new record and up sharply from $11.6 billion in 2024, surpassing the previous high of $12.2 billion in 2023. Planned per-person spend is at a record $114.45. The category split: $4.3B on costumes, $4.2B on decorations, $3.9B on candy, and $0.7B on greeting cards.

Consumers are also starting earlier. Nearly half say they begin shopping in September or earlier — a continuation of post-pandemic “holiday creep.” And despite price concerns (including tariffs), participation remains broad: roughly 73% plan to celebrate in 2025.

A Decade Of Growth: From Costumes To Castle-Sized Skeletons

A decade ago, Halloween was already a sizable event, but the baseline was lower. NRF’s 2015 outlook pegged total spend at $6.9 billion (about $74 per shopper). By 2016, that figure jumped to $8.4 billion, and by the late 2010s spending regularly hovered around $8–9 billion (e.g., $8.8 billion in 2019). The post-pandemic rebound — and then surge — took the holiday to new heights: $10.6B (2022), $12.2B (2023), $11.6B (2024), and $13.1B projected for 2025.

Three structural shifts help explain the upward slope:

1. Adult Participation And “Kidulting”: Adults now reliably dress up, host parties, and turn their homes into walk-through sets. Retailers have leaned into “grown-up Halloween,” from high-quality costume lines to pricey animatronic lawn figures. Bloomberg even chronicled the viral 12-foot Home Depot skeleton as emblematic of demand for novelty décor.

2. Social Media Showmanship: Instagram and TikTok turned Halloween into a month-long content sport: costume reveals, yard transformations, and party how-tos, rewarding one-upmanship and “how did they do that?” DIY culture — but with big checkout baskets for craft supplies and décor.

3. Post-Pandemic Celebration: After the muted 2020 season, participation rebounded. NRF data show record activity in 2023 (73% celebrating) and sustained momentum in 2024–2025, with more people shopping early to secure hot items.

Where The Money Goes

Costumes: From Superheroes To Demon Hunters

Costumes are the single largest line item in 2025 at $4.3 billion. NRF’s breakdown points to robust spending across adults (~$2B), kids (~$1.4B), and pets (nearly $1B) — yes, pet costumes are now a billion-dollar near-business. Top inspirations skew toward the culture of the moment (superheroes, princesses, anime demon hunters), with online search and in-store browsing leading discovery.

Just as important is where people buy: discount stores remain the top destination, followed by specialty Halloween shops and online — a pattern that helps consumers trade up or down as budgets and ambition dictate.

Decorations: The Era Of Statement Yards

If the 2010s were about costumes and candy, the mid-2020s belong to décor. In 2025, 78% of Halloween shoppers plan to buy decorations, with spending expected to hit $4.2 billion — $1.6B more than in 2019. Yard-dominating inflatables and animatronics have become the season’s prestige purchases, a trend punctuated by the rise (and sellouts) of giant skeletons and other viral pieces.

Candy: Inflation, Cocoa Shocks, And A Subtle Shift In Mix

Candy is the most universal purchase, yet it’s where inflation drama has been loudest. Through 2024–2025, cocoa prices spiked to historic levels, prompting manufacturers to raise prices, shrink pack sizes, or tilt toward non-chocolate treats to manage costs. Wells Fargo’s agri-food team and multiple news outlets have documented the squeeze; Reuters reported that U.S. chocolate prices remain elevated into Halloween 2025 even as cocoa futures have recently come off their peaks. The Financial Times likewise notes cocoa’s pullback from extremes, but warns retail prices will take time to ease.

Even with those pressures, consumers still plan to spend $3.9 billion on candy in 2025. At the household level, BLS data show Americans spent about $164 on “candy and chewing gum” in 2023 across the year — a useful reminder that Halloween is just one spike in a broader confectionery budget.

Greeting Cards: A Small, Seasonal Signal

Halloween cards remain a niche but telling category: NRF pegs 2025 spending at about $700 million, up from prior years. That lift aligns with a comeback in “analog” sentiments amid a digital world — another example of Halloween’s nostalgia economics.

How Retailers Orchestrate The Season

The Calendar: “Holiday Creep” As A Strategy

Retailers now reset aisles in late August, land the first wave of décor by early September, and replenish weekly through October. NRF finds ~49% of shoppers start before October, a share up meaningfully versus a decade ago. That gives merchants more selling weeks and helps budget-conscious households spread out costs — or pounce before viral items sell out.

The Channel Mix: Discount First, Then Specialty And Online

Even as e-commerce remains powerful for costumes and décor, discount stores still capture the biggest chunk of Halloween baskets — a reflection of both price sensitivity and the tactile joy of browsing. Specialty Halloween shops lock in last-minute costumes and hard-to-find accessories; online excels at unique themes and long-tail sizes.

The Pop-Up Economy: Spirit Halloween And Seasonal Jobs

No brand embodies the Halloween pop-up model like Spirit Halloween, which grows to 1,500+ stores each fall, flooding vacant retail boxes with orange-and-black assortments. The chain’s 2024 press update highlighted its massive seasonal footprint — a window into how temporary retail activates dormant real estate and local hiring in hundreds of markets. Broader holiday hiring is expected to be softer in 2024 versus the prior year, but Halloween still kicks off the seasonal staffing wave that peaks in November–December.

The Experiences Economy: Haunted Houses, Tourism, And Parties

Halloween money doesn’t stop at store registers. Haunted houses and seasonal attractions pull in hundreds of millions in ticket sales, with national chains and local operators alike reporting strong demand. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that haunted houses are proliferating and professionalizing, adding timed entry, actor unions, and higher production values — all of which feed local employment and vendor ecosystems. Separately, Halloween tourism has become a force: towns like Salem, MA, and Sleepy Hollow, NY, record October booms that spill into restaurants, hotels, boutiques, and transportation.

Parties — at home and in bars — further broaden the spend: food, beverages, décor, ride-share, and streaming horror classics. In some years, buy-now-pay-later usage even shows up in Halloween tallies, reflecting both price levels and the desire to stage elaborate events. (BNPL mentions surfaced in mainstream coverage of fall consumer behavior in 2023–2024.)

Inflation, Ingredients, And “Shrinkflation”: The 2024–2025 Candy Story

If there’s one subplot that defines Halloween 2024–2025, it’s the cocoa shock. Weather and disease hammered West African crops in 2023–2024, sending futures to unprecedented highs in late 2024 and early 2025. Producers raised prices, reduced pack sizes, and tilted assortments toward gummies and licorice, which don’t rely on cocoa — a shift documented by Reuters and trade outlets. Even as cocoa retraced in late 2025, the FT cautioned that retail shelf prices lag and could stay elevated through the season. Consumers notice; surveys show many adjusting basket mix or quantity — but they still show up for trick-or-treat.

The broader CPI basket tells a similar tale: BLS’s candy and gum index ran hot in 2023–2024, outpacing overall food inflation at times. Households juggle this by shopping discount, buying store brands, or spreading purchases across September–October. In effect, Halloween becomes practice for the larger holiday budgeting puzzle.

Pop Culture, Fandoms, And The Costume Flywheel

NRF’s 2025 costume preview reads like a time capsule: superheroes, princesses, and anime demon hunters share space with perennial classics (witches, vampires) — a direct pipeline from streaming and box office into store racks. Social feeds then amplify the best looks, pushing late adopters to “add to cart.” The loop between pop culture → discovery → purchase → share is tightest during Halloween, and retailers time drops (and licensing) to ride that wave.

What Drives The Annual Surge?

1) Ritual And Nostalgia

Halloween is reliably fun. It’s intergenerational, relatively affordable compared to gift-heavy holidays, and invites creativity. That emotional core explains why the holiday rebounded so hard after 2020 — and why décor exploded as families turned yards into community stages.

2) Marketing And Merchandising Mastery

Retailers seed the season earlier each year, organize aisles by theme, and use limited drops (think viral skeletons) to stoke urgency. High-margin décor helps offset costlier candy. Discount chains anchor price points; specialty and online capture niches and add-ons.

3) Social Media And The “Show” Economy

Every purchase can become content — costumes, tablescapes, front-yard builds — which nudges households to do a little more than last year. Search and in-store browsing remain the top idea sources, but the scroll is the new mood board.

4) Post-Pandemic Reprioritization

Consumers have shifted spending toward experiences and seasonality. Even with caution elsewhere, Halloween persists as a “small luxury” month, echoing the resilience of categories like beauty during downturns. Retailers plan inventory and import calendars around that predictability.

The 2024 Interlude: A Slight Dip, Still A High Plateau

After 2023’s record $12.2B, 2024 dipped to $11.6B — still the second-highest Halloween on record at the time. Participation stayed strong (~72%), but shoppers showed sensitivity on big-ticket buys, likely reflecting 2024’s macro backdrop and sticky food inflation. Importantly, the spending composition held — with $3.8B apiece for costumes and decorations, and $3.5B for candy. That plateau set the stage for 2025’s record rebound.

How Halloween Ripples Through Local Economies

From pumpkin farms and costume seamstresses to ride-share drivers and caterers, Halloween dollars churn locally. Towns that brand the month — Salem and Sleepy Hollow are famous examples — see October tourism spikes that lift independent shops well beyond candy and costumes. Meanwhile, haunted attractions source lumber, lighting, fog machines, and safety staff from local vendors; some have become sophisticated seasonal employers in their own right.

Shopper Playbook: How Households Are Adapting

• Start Earlier: The best selection is increasingly in mid-September. NRF data show nearly half now shop before October.

• Mix Channels: Use discount stores for basics, specialty for costume finishing touches, and online for size/style gaps.

• Watch Ingredient-Driven Prices: Expect chocolate to stay pricey in 2025, with more non-chocolate options on shelves.

• Plan The Party Like A Pro: Spreading purchases over multiple pay cycles (without over-relying on BNPL) helps avoid a November bill hangover. (Media analyses have flagged BNPL use during fall retail peaks.)

What It Means For Retail, Media, And Brands

• Retailers should treat Halloween as Q4’s opening act — a testbed for merchandising, inventory velocity, and social-content hooks that carry into November. Early receipts are leading indicators for holiday cheer (or caution).

• Media & IP Owners benefit from the costume-licensing flywheel. A breakout show in August can translate directly into costume and décor sales by October.

• CPG & Confectioners must manage ingredient volatility with pack architecture, promotions, and mix (more non-chocolate) — while keeping trust in a season where tradition matters.

The Bottom Line

Halloween’s economy is a mirror: it reflects our hunger for shared experiences, our price sensitivities, and our pop-culture obsessions — all concentrated into one wildly merchandised month. The 2025 season’s record $13.1 billion projection shows the holiday isn’t just resilient; it’s still growing, powered by early planners, yard-sized statements, and a consumer base that delights in turning ordinary neighborhoods into film sets for a night.

For retailers and brands, the strategy is clear: start early, curate for showmanship, price for value, and make it shareable. For households, the secret is just as simple: enjoy the ritual, set the budget, and pass the bowl.