During the Last Decades Parties and Halloween Business Have Been on the Rise

As the National Retail Federation Annual Survey report says, this year of 2018, Halloween is looking like an expensive one as the spending is expected to reach nine-billion dollars. About $2.7 billion is going towards decorations, $2.6 billion on candy and $400 million on greeting cards. The bulk of it will be spent on costumes at a little more than $3 billion. The report found the average spending per person in 2018 will be $86, and slightly higher than in 2017.

Studies based in the last 5 years from the same annual survey of the National Retail Federation, proof that Americans is not saving up on Christmas but they appear to be planning to blow a huge chunk of change on Halloween. According to the National Retailer Foundation (NRF) in 2015, 157 million Americans “celebrated” Halloween by spending nearly $7 billion, with the average shopper spending $74. Interesting to note that on top of that, American consumers in 2015 spent over $350 million to dress up not their children or themselves, but also their pets!

Retailers report that as Halloween increases in popularity as a holiday to celebrate for all ages and the “fashion” of costuming becomes more important. One retailer noted that in his store, costume preferences are trending toward “the dark side of the aisle” as more and more adults and even kids want to dress as their favorite villains. In 2015 the coolest thing was to be the “bad guy”. Pop-up stores are becoming a hugely popular business model and are quite profitable. However, more and more retailers are opting to not open brick-and-mortar stores at all, instead simply stocking their wares on Amazon and relying on American consumers to find them electronically.

During the last decades the festivities, parties and also the Halloween business have been on the rise. Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It’s the day (or maybe, the all week) that you get to become anything that you want to be. It’s the day that kids waiting all the year for take the streets with their parents to make the traditional “trick or treat”. For the little ones is the “Halloween happiness in a jar”! For the adults in America, it’s a synonymous of Carnival Party-Fun-Extravaganza “Tio San” style.

It’s time to buy a new costume, be however you want to be and move your butt in the Halloween mood! There are some similarities between Halloween and Carnival, and in particular our Brazilian Carnaval.