Beyond childhood, few of us ever stop to contemplate Halloween, much less how it affects the rest of he world. While nothing beats nostalgic memories of free candy and jack-o-lanterns, it’s worth exploring the many ways in which Halloween shapes the economy both before and after the holiday. This year is especially interesting to follow, with the recession throwing extra twists and wrinkles into the usual goings on of late October. We begin with the most obvious of Halloween-time economic actors: Big Candy.
Halloween Candy
Halloween is hands down the most prosperous time of year for candy manufacturers and retailers. According to EverythingHalloween.com, candy sales “will near $2.1 billion this year”, which is “up almost 3% since last year.” The Sacramento Bee has an even larger estimate, stating that “cash registers will ring up nearly $2.23 billion in candy sales” in the week leading up to October 31st, amounting to “600 million pounds of every confection imaginable for the nine out of 10 kids who will be ringing doorbells Saturday night.” Roughly 90 million of the 600 million pounds will be chocolate, putting Halloween on pace to smash every other holiday’s chocolate sales (even Valentines Day.)
A Drop in Halloween Sales
The National Retail Federation claims that “about 7 out of 10 households plan to turn on the lights for trick or treaters”, each of them “spending an average of $18 on candy.” Although still a strong showing, the recession has definitely cast a chilling effect on Halloween-related sales and participation. In a blog post entitled “Halloween survey reveals spooky spending”, NRF claims that “research shows spending will drop an average of $10 per person”. Brandweek drills deeper into the data, observing that “consumers predict their average overall spending this year to total $56.31, a decrease from $66.54 in 2008.” Of this figure, Halloween shoppers “plan to spend an avarege of $20.75 on costumes, $17.99 on candy, $14.95 on decorations and $3.02 on greeting cards.” The aggregate of all this buying activity equates to a projected Halloween outlay of $4.75 billion – still high for a recession, but down significantly from the estimated $5.77 billion spent last year, according to NPR. Even pumpkin farms (a perennial Halloween sales juggernaut) are feeling the squeeze, with 42.4% of survey respondents planning to carve jack-o-lanterns as opposed to the 44.6% from 2008.
Halloween Costumes – Even For Adults
But Halloween’s economic impact hardly stops at candy and pumpkin sales. As MSNBC reports, Halloween might “conjure up visions of shrieking kids in princess and skeleton costumes trick-or-treating”, but in reality, the holiday has “morphed into a celebration by adults who buy a Dracula or sexy showgirl outfit and head to a party or club.” As part of a shift in Halloween economics over the last five to ten years, the holiday has become increasingly adult-focused. Costume sales, for example, are more than 50% comprised of adult costumes, an astonishing increase from just a decade earlier. Some retailers, such as Frankel’s Costume Co proprietor Terrie Frankel, gauge adult costume sales to account for over 80% of their business. And they aren’t just tacky costumes, either. NY Daily News reports on a high-priced, e-mail invitation only costume sale at Manhattan-based Gilt.com, during which one shopper “dropped $880 on a papier-maché mask with Swarovski crystals, Spanish macramé and a 3-foot explosion of rooster feathers that would need separate cab fare.” Another Manhattan costume designer, Frankie Stentz, claims to be receiving custom orders that start at $1,500.
Why have adults rushed en masse to participate in what is traditionally a children’s holiday? One answer offered by MSNBC is that more clubs and bars than ever are throwing Halloween parties and events.
Halloween and Alcohol
The sudden surge in 18 and older participants have opened the Halloween market to industries that never had a stake in it before, such as alcoholic beverage makers. Ad campaigns for drinks such as Blue Ices “Pumpkin Pie Martini” and beer maker Blue Moon’s “October Ale” can be seen all over radio, TV and print. 2009 presents an especially lucrative opportunity for clubs and bars, with Halloween falling on a Saturday allowing a weekend-long influx of customers to get tanked in pointy witch hats and vampire garb.
As MSNBC and others have speculated, Halloween is likely seen as an escape by the older crowd who now accounts for so much of its economic activity. With the recession in full swing, the opportunity to become someone (or something) else for a wild weekend of booze-fueled fun in a packed bar or club is an alluring outlet for the anxiety and frustration so many are feeling. Combined with the already-booming bonanza that Halloween has always been, Halloween 2009 promises to see gobs of money change hands before October is out.
