How Much Do You Plan to Spend on Halloween This Year?

By LIZ TAURASI (Patch Staff)

Halloween spending continues to be right up there with Christmas, and this year is no different.

From dressing up their pets to buying decorations for their yard, as well as costumes so the whole family can join in the fun, and don’t forget the candy -- consumer Halloween spending is expected to reach $6.9 billion this year.

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The National Retail Federation released its annual Halloween Consumer Spending Survey and found the average person will spend $74.34 this year. If that sounds high, it’s actually a few dollars lower compared to $77.52 in average spending in 2014.

How does that spending all break down? Here’s what the survey found:

Costumes

The survey found 68 million Americans will dress up this Halloween, while another 20 million will outfit their pets in costumes. Here is how that spending is expected to break down:

• Family Costumes: An average of $27.33 on costumes for the whole family, with a national total of $2.5 billion.

• Adult Costumes: Consumers will spend the most on adult costumers at $1.2 billion.

• Children’s Costumes: $950 million on children’s costumes.

• Pet Costumes: $350 million on costumes for their pets.

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Decorations, Cards and Candy

• Candy: Candy purchases will total $2.1 billion this year with 93.7 percent of Halloween shoppers buying candy for the holiday.

• Greeting Cards: 33.5 percent will purchase greeting cards for a total of $330 million.

• Indoor and Outdoor Decorations: 44.8 percent will decorate their homes and yards with the average spending on decorations to be $20.34 per person with total spending expected to reach $1.9 billion.

• Also see: Just in Time for Halloween: How To Roast Perfect Pumpkin Seeds

Still Deciding on a Costume?

The annual report says similar to past years, the majority of consumers will find costumer inspiration online (31.4%) or will head to costume shops and retail stores (26.8%) before making a final decision.

Pinterest continues to grow in popularity among those looking for costume inspiration (13.3%), as this year’s percentage is nearly double the amount who used the site for inspiration just three years ago (7.1%).

--Image via Morgue File