Americans Will Drop $285 a Household on Halloween This Year, and a Third Say They're Spending Even More
New survey data released October 5 shows Halloween climbing toward a record $13.5 billion in U.S. spending, with grocery stores and big-box retailers capturing the bulk of it. The holiday that used to be a candy afterthought is now a full retail season in its own right.
New data released October 5, 2026, shows Halloween spending on pace to hit $13.5 billion nationally this year, according to the National Retail Federation, up from $13.1 billion. A separate Deloitte survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers put average household spending at $285, split between $219 at retailers and $66 on experiences, with roughly a third of shoppers planning to spend more than they did last year.
The money splits fairly evenly across costumes and accessories ($57), decorations ($54), candy and food ($48), and dining or social outings ($32), and consumers are increasingly treating it like any other retail season: about two-thirds are shopping in physical stores and a third online, leaning on grocery chains, big-box retailers, discount and dollar stores, and specialty seasonal shops like Spirit Halloween. Roughly one in five shoppers said they would use buy-now-pay-later financing to cover it, which says as much about the broader consumer as it does about costumes.
Retailers are not just along for the ride, either. Target and The Home Depot both get called out by name as destinations shoppers are turning to, underscoring how far Halloween has moved from a candy-aisle afterthought to a full-blown seasonal category that retailers now build entire merchandising calendars around.
Source: Retail Dive
Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →
