Will US Halloween Spending Disappear?...First Decline in Consumer Spending Since COVID-19 Expected

As Halloween approaches in the United States, consumer sentiment has frozen, leading to forecasts that spending will decline for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Bloomberg and others on the 12th (local time), the National Retail Federation (NRF) expects Halloween-related spending this year to decrease by about 5% to $11.6 billion (15.67 trillion KRW) compared to last year's record high of $12.2 billion (16.48 trillion KRW).

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Halloween spending dropped from $8.8 billion (11.9 trillion KRW) in 2019 to $8.0 billion (10.8 trillion KRW) in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Since then, it increased annually to $10.1 billion (13.65 trillion KRW) in 2021 and $10.6 billion (14.3 trillion KRW) in 2022, but this year it is expected to decline for the first time.

Per capita Halloween spending is also expected to decrease. The estimated average spending per person this Halloween season is $103.63 (140,000 KRW), which is $4.62 (6,000 KRW) less than last year's $108.24 (146,000 KRW). By category, decorations and costumes each accounted for $3.8 billion (5.1 trillion KRW), candy $3.5 billion (4.7 trillion KRW), and greeting cards $0.5 billion (670 billion KRW).

Discount stores accounted for the largest share of Halloween product purchases at 37%, followed by Halloween and costume specialty stores (33%) and online (33%).