Halloween-Related Spending to Get Spooked This Year

Shoppers are still planning to celebrate Halloween this year, according to Coresight Research — but they expect to spend less or nothing at all for the holiday.

In Coresight Research’s weekly U.S. consumer survey report that provides detailed updates on consumer behavior and sentiment, the firm found that among those that typically celebrate Halloween in one way or another (about two-thirds), four in 10 respondents said they will spend less this year, while 16 percent said they’ll skip the spending altogether.

Consumers celebrating the holiday mainly plan to do so at home, with about half of respondents planning to decorate their homes and a mere 36 percent planning to dress in costumes.

“Despite the ongoing pandemic, we saw higher proportions of consumers who said they will go to a friend’s/neighbor’s house for a party and who plan to organize party at home than those that expect to celebrate virtually,” authors of the report noted.

And avoidance rates of public places spiked this week, as 82 percent of respondents said they are currently avoiding any public place, which is up six percentage points from 76 percent last week. “This could be due to rising coronavirus cases in some states, indicating a possible second wave of the virus this fall,” the report said.

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