Rising prices are not putting Americans off Halloween. The National Retail Federation expects total spending on the holiday to reach $13.5 billion in 2026, up from last year’s record $13.1 billion, according to its annual survey with Prosper Insights & Analytics.
The numbers
- Total spending: $13.5 billion.
- Per person: $115.14, up from $114.45 in 2025.
- Taking part: 74% of Americans plan to celebrate, up from 73% last year and 68% in 2019.
Where the money goes
- Costumes: $4.4 billion, bought by 71% of celebrants. That includes $2 billion on adult costumes, $1.5 billion on children’s costumes and about $920 million on outfits for pets.
- Decorations: $4.3 billion.
- Candy: $4.1 billion, bought by 96% of those celebrating.
- Greeting cards: $800 million, with 42% planning to send one, up from 38%.
The most popular costumes
- Children: Spider-Man is the clear favourite, followed by a generic superhero, princess, witch and ghost.
- Adults: witch tops the list, followed by vampire, Batman, Spider-Man and ghost.
- Pets: pumpkins, hot dogs and ghosts.
How shoppers are saving
Even with spending at a high, many people are budgeting carefully. About a third say they will shop around for the best price, 26% are looking for coupons or sales, and 34% want items they can reuse in future years. About half planned to start shopping in September or earlier. Discount stores are the top destination, followed by specialty costume stores and online retailers.
Nearly half of shoppers said they plan to use AI tools, mostly for costume ideas and party planning, a sign of how quickly chatbots have entered everyday decisions.
“Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority,” said Allison Zeller, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights.
The survey of 7,889 adults was conducted from September 1 to 9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.