The Cost Of A Good Scare
It’s almost scary, the money people spend on Halloween.
Americans will shell out just over $5 billion on the harrowing holiday this year, up 58% since 2002 (annualized growth: 11%), according to the latest sales projections by the National Retail Federation’s 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by market research company BIGresearch.
That’s a fraction of the $17 billion Valentine’s Day inspires–flowers and diamonds cost more than pumpkins and candy corn–but it’s still a hell of a pile. And it doesn’t even include all the alcohol consumed at those crazy costume parties.
“Halloween is moving away from one night out of the year to a full season,” says Scott Krugman, a spokesman for the NRF. “The larger promotional window for Halloween is leading to increased sales opportunities for retailers.”
Nearly 60% of the 8,877 people surveyed by the NRF plan to celebrate Halloween in some way–including dressing up, going to a party, handing out candy, carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and decorating.
