Halloween Costs 2014: Americans Will Spend More To Celebrate This Year

The price of celebrating Halloween this year may spook you. The National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend $7.4 billion on Halloween goodies in 2014, according to a news release. The average person will spend $77.52 – about $2.50 more than last year.

Americans will shell out $2.2 billion on candy and $2 billion on decorations, the trade group says. Dressing up also generates big bucks: $2.8 billion will be spent on costumes alone, a slight increase from 2013. Pet owners will buy $20 million more in costumes for their animals, totaling $350 million.

Halloween costs tend to fluctuate from year to year. In 2012, the average person spent almost $80. Two years before that, the average was $66. Ten years ago, the average consumer planned to spend $43.57, according to CNN.

About 19 percent of respondents said the economy would affect how they celebrated Halloween. Even so, the survey found that more than two-thirds of Americans will celebrate Halloween this year, with 75 million adults planning to wear a costume. Many will be witches, animals, Batman characters and pirates. Roughly 2.6 million children plan to be “Frozen” characters.

The National Retail Federation’s president and CEO, Matthew Shay, said in a release that Halloween is one of the fastest-growing consumer holidays. “There’s no question that the variety of adult, child and even pet costumes now available has driven the demand and popularity of Halloween among consumers of all ages,” he said. “And, with the holiday falling on a Friday this year, we fully expect there will be a record number of consumers taking to the streets, visiting haunted houses and throwing unforgettable celebrations.”

In fact, most people probably already have started their Halloween shopping. The survey found that 43.3 percent of Halloween fans planned to begin shopping online and in stores during the first two weeks of October.