I don't know about you, but I'm getting a lot of "get a jump on Halloween" emails in my Inbox of late.
Halloween became a mainstream, mass-market holiday in the US during the 1950s, propelled by the post-World War II rise of organized trick-or-treating.
Halloween in the USA is projected to be worth a record $13.1 billion in total consumer spending for 2026, according to estimates tracked by the National Retail Federation. [
Top Spending Categories
- Costumes: $4.3 billion total, split between adults ($2 billion), children ($1.4 billion), and pets ($860 million).
- Decorations: $4.2 billion spent on indoor and outdoor home displays.
- Candy: $3.9 billion for trick-or-treaters and seasonal treats.
Key Market Trends
- Per-Person Spending: Individual consumers plan to spend an average of about $114.45 on seasonal goods.
- Early Shopping: Nearly half of all shoppers start purchasing items in September or earlier.
- High-Demand Items: Large animatronics, viral yard decorations (like giant skeletons), and pet costumes continue to drive market growth.
As much as Halloween has grown recently, Christmas still vastly eclipses Halloween spending, with winter holiday retail sales in the range of $960 billion to $1 trillion annually.