Halloween Spending Hits a Record and Shoppers Blame Tariffs

Halloween Spending Hits a Record this year, and the scariest number is not on any costume tag. Americans are expected to spend thirteen and a half billion dollars on the holiday, the biggest total ever captured by the National Retail Federation's annual survey, even as shoppers brace for higher prices on nearly everything from candy to costumes.

The figure tops last year's record of thirteen point one billion dollars and works out to roughly one hundred fifteen dollars per person, essentially flat against last year's average of about one hundred fourteen and a half dollars a head. In other words, the record is being driven less by enthusiasm than by arithmetic: the same celebration simply costs more than it did a year ago.

About seventy-four percent of consumers plan to celebrate this year, compared with seventy-three percent last year and sixty-eight percent back in 2019, according to survey data released in late September. The poll of nearly eight thousand shoppers was conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics during the first week of the month and carries a margin of error of just over one percentage point.

The tariff cloud over the candy aisle

What makes this year's record unusual is the mood behind it. Seventy-nine percent of shoppers say they expect prices on Halloween merchandise to be higher specifically because of tariffs, a finding that turns the holiday into an unlikely barometer of trade policy. Candy remains the most-bought category, with ninety-six percent of celebrants planning to buy sweets for a combined four point one billion dollars, followed by decorations at seventy-eight percent and four point three billion, and costumes at seventy-one percent and four point four billion. The full breakdown comes from the federation's 2026 Halloween survey write-up, which also notes that greeting cards are having a moment, with planned purchases climbing to forty-two percent of shoppers.

"Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority, but they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind," said Allison Zeller, the federation's vice president of industry and consumer insights, in the group's release. "Shoppers are being thoughtful and strategic, looking for ways to maximize value throughout the season." Her read matches what retailers are seeing on the ground: demand holds, but deal-hunting now shapes nearly every purchase.

How shoppers are fighting the sticker shock

The bargain hunt starts earlier every year. Forty-nine percent of consumers say they began Halloween shopping in September or earlier, up from thirty-four percent a decade ago, when the holiday was still a last-minute scramble. Among the early birds, roughly twenty-three percent say starting early lets them spread the cost across paychecks, while twenty-one percent are chasing early promotions before the best items sell out.

Where people shop has shifted too. Discount stores remain the top destination, drawing thirty-nine percent of shoppers, ahead of specialty costume shops at thirty-two percent and online retailers at twenty-seven percent. And if prices come in higher than expected, shoppers have a playbook: about a third say they will compare prices across stores, while others plan to hunt for coupons or look for items they can reuse for future holidays.

Artificial intelligence has joined the bargain hunt as well. Forty-seven percent of consumers say they are using AI tools to support their Halloween shopping this year, most often to brainstorm costume ideas or research products before they buy. "AI is becoming an increasingly common part of the consumer shopping journey," said Phil Rist, an executive vice president at Prosper, in the release — a sign that even the spookiest season now runs on algorithms.

For Gen Z, that blend of record spending and aggressive deal-hunting feels familiar: it is the same generation that made thrifted costumes and homemade decorations a badge of honor. The costumes themselves are getting stranger, too — Google's annual Frightgeist report just ranked a killer unicorn as the country's most-searched costume trend — which may explain why shoppers will stretch for the perfect look while pinching pennies everywhere else. Retailers have noticed the fandom effect as well, with Spirit Halloween's own forecast pointing to another year dominated by pop culture, and TikTok turning October into a full costume season weeks before the holiday itself.

Halloween Spending Hits a Record at a moment when almost everything about the holiday is being renegotiated: where people buy, when they buy, and what they are willing to pay. The lesson of this year's survey is not that shoppers are carefree — it is that they will defend the celebration anyway, one coupon and one price comparison at a time.