Seasonal & Holidays
Best Selling Halloween Costumes for Pets 2015
Patch visited PetSmart and found out what the top selling costumes are in 2015. What will your four-legged North Branford friend be?
By WENDY ANN MITCHELL (Patch Staff)
Have you figured out what you’re going to be for Halloween this year? What about your pets?
Americans will spend close to $6.9 billion on Halloween costumes this year, or $74.34 per person in 2015, according to the National Retail Federation.
“Those celebrating will spend the most on adult costumes ($1.2 billion), and will spend a total of $950 million on children’s costumes and $350 million on fashionable and fun costumes for their furry friends. It’s estimated that 68 million Americans will dress up this Halloween and another 20 million pet owners will dress up their pet,” the NRF said on their website.
Patch visited PetSmart with our own four-legged companion, Sadie, a 2-year-old Black Lab mix, to try on costumes and find out which of their costumes are top sellers this year.
Superheroes, pumpkins and bumblebees are all the rage this year, Norwalk Store Manager Walter Randall said, but the best selling style yet is what he calls “Pop Riders.”
“You put it on your dog, it can be a princess or cat, or even a horse rider. It makes it look like the little man is on top of your dog riding it like a horse.”
PetSmart has everything from popular movie characters, including Princess Elsa and Olaf from Disney’s Frozen, to superheroes like Batman, Spiderman and Wonder Woman.
Also lining their shelves are some hilariously humiliating pet costumes. Randall thinks the hot dog and hamburger costumes top the most embarrassing list. All are now available at PetSmart for 75 percent off, while supplies last.
Manager Sarah Evans will dress up her one-year-old Miniature Pinscher “Chewy” as a pumpkin, the number one most popular costume according to the National Retail Federation’s 2015 Halloween Consumer Top Costumes Survey.
Sales associate Cheryl Coppola has two Shih Tzu siblings who will be decked out as Supergirl and Batman.
Randall, who has been with the company for 12 years, said PetSmart prides itself in going above and beyond to ensure their customers’ needs are met.
“We had a customer call today from Port Chester, New York who was desperate to get a Wonder Woman costume. We had one and set it aside for her,” he said.
“We always have a lot going on here and our customers really get into the spirit of the season. We have a pet costume parade coming up on Oct. 24th from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. with a costume contest.”
Prizes and treats will be awarded to the top dogs. One grand prize winning pooch will win an award for a free mini makeover.
Related:
Do you have a photo of your pet in a cute or scary Halloween costume? Send it to wendy.mitchell@patch.com and we’ll share it with our readers.
Photos: Wendy Mitchell
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