Halloween Spending Expected To Take Off

As children go running from house to house this Halloween, it looks like they’ll be wearing fancier costumes and receiving better candy compared to 2009.  The National Retail Federation predicted that Halloween spending will be up 17.7 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Indeed, the NRF thinks the average consumer will spend $66.28 on Halloween this year, versus $56.31 the last time around.  And a lot of that ($23.37) is supposed to go towards a costume.

Then candy is supposed to represent the next biggest spending category ($20.29), followed by decorations ($18.66) and greeting cards ($3.95).

Small businesses should plan accordingly (depending on what sort of products and services they deal in, of course).  And small business owners who live in the suburbs might also want to take those facts into account so that neighbors don’t view them as cheapskates.

Anyway, if you’re curious about the data’s reliability, the NRF said in a statement, "The poll of 9,291 consumers was conducted from August 31 – September 8, 2010.  The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent."

So this is almost definitely shaping up to be a good Halloween for retailers nationwide.