American spending on Halloween celebrations on October 31 may come close to a record high in 2019, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Consumers say they plan on average to spend $ 86.27, which is only slightly less than last year’s figure, which was $ 86.79 per person. Thus, the total expenditure in 2019 will be $ 8.8 billion, compared with $ 9 billion a year earlier. In 2017, expenses amounted to a record $ 9.1 billion.

This year, 172 million Americans plan to take part in the celebration of Halloween, that is 68% of respondents. In 2018, this indicator amounted to 175 million.

“The cost metric has not changed significantly over the past few years, but we are seeing a significant increase in the number of consumers who shop for Halloween, focusing on the choice of friends, neighbours or even celebrities on social networks,” said Matthew President and CEO NRF.

According to him, retailers expect another good season and “stock up on sweets, decorations and the most popular costumes.”

When choosing an image for Halloween, 35% of respondents are inspired by ideas found on the Internet, 28% go shopping, and 20% focus on friends and relatives.

According to the survey, Americans plan to spend a total of $ 3.2 billion on costumes, $ 2.6 billion on sweets, $ 2.7 billion on holiday decorations and $ 390 million on greeting cards.

At the same time, 42% of people preparing to celebrate Halloween plan to purchase goods in discount stores, 36% in specialized stores, 25% in online stores, 25% in grocery stores and 23% in shopping centres.

According to the study, for children this year, as in the past, Americans most often choose the images of princesses (7.9%) and superheroes (6%). Adults prefer costumes of witches (8.9%), vampires (3.6%) and superheroes (3.1%).

The study also showed that 29 million Americans plan to dress up their pets, with 9.3% wearing a pumpkin costume, 7.2% wearing a hot dog, and the same amount wearing a superhero costume.

Earlier in October, the National Association of Confectioners (NCA) reported that in 2019, Americans will spend $ 2.7 billion on candy for distributing to children on Halloween.