The Shocking Scale Of U.S. Halloween Spending

As revellers gear up for Halloween by splurging on a host of costumes, decorations and candy, all of that spending is starting to add up. Indeed, for some people the fright factor isn't just confined to Halloween with real-life credit card bills sending a shiver down people's spines well afterwards. This year, 70 percent of Americans plan to celebrate the beloved autumn holiday and on average, each person will spend $87.

Halloween is always great news for U.S. retailers and this year, Americans are expected to spend $9.0 billion in total, slightly down on last year's $9.1 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. 45 percent of Americans will shop at a discount store this year while just under a quarter will make their Halloween purchases online. When it comes to how people will celebrate, 70 percent will hand out candy, 50 percent will decorate and 48 percent will dress in costume.

Speaking of costumes, Americans will spend $3.2 billion on spooky outfits in 2018. The top costumes for children this year are the princess, superhero and bat. Among adults, witch is top of the cosume list, followed by vampire and zombie. Of course, the four-legged friends are never forgotten on Halloween and the top pet costumes this year are the pumpkin, hot dog and bumble bee outfits.