Consumers head online for Halloween inspiration, but to stores for purchases

Brick-and-mortar remains the top destination when it comes to Halloween shopping. 

To buy Halloween merchandise, 42% of shoppers will go to a discount store, 36% to a specialty Halloween or costume store, 25% will shop online, another 25% will go to a grocery store and 23% will visit a department store, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics.  

Spending on Halloween costume and decoration ideas is expected to reach a near-record amount this year, the survey found. Shoppers say they will spend an average $86.27, down just slightly from last year’s record $86.79. That works out to $8.8 billion in total spending, down from last year’s $9 billion. This year’s total is expected to be the third-highest in the survey’s 15-year history. 

Online search remains the top source of Halloween inspiration, cited by 35% of consumers surveyed, followed by browsing in stores at 28%, and ideas from friends and family at 20%. Inspiration from social media has increased across several platforms since 2015. Pinterest was cited by 18%, up from 13% in 2015; 14% cited both YouTube (up from 8%) and Instagram (up from 7%).
 
According to the survey, consumers plan to spend $3.2 billion on costumes (purchased by 67% of Halloween shoppers), $2.6 billion on candy (95%), $2.7 billion on decorations (72%) and $390 million on greeting cards (34%).