Who said Halloween is just for children? This is a day when everyone from children, to pets, to adults don their favorite costume to celebrate the holiday.

According to the the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, consumers plan to spend $3.2 billion on that oh-so-right costume (purchased by 67 percent of Halloween shoppers).

Among those celebrating,  47 percent will dress in costume and 17 percent will dress their pets in costume.

To buy that perfect Halloween outfit, 36 percent will go to a specialty Halloween or costume store.

Top Costumes
“Halloween celebrations are primarily for children, and we see many of the same costume choices year after year,” Prosper Insights Executive Vice President for Strategy Phil Rist said in a prepared statement. “Grownups who celebrate may be looking for new ideas, but for children, princesses and superheroes are perennial favorites.”

Children
The survey found 3.1 million children plan to dress up as their favorite princess, 2.4 million as their favorite superhero, 2 million as Spider-Man,1.5 million as an Avengers character other than Spider-Man and 1.4 million as Batman.

  •  Princess – 7.9 percent
  •  Superhero – 6 percent
  •  Spider-Man – 5.2 percent
  •  Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 3.9 percent
  •  Batman – 3.5 percent
  •  Witch – 3.3 percent
  •  Ghost – 2.8 percent
  •  Vampire – 2.2 percent
  •  Frozen (Elsa, Anna) – 2.2 percent
  •  Pirate – 2.1 percent

Adults
The survey found 5 million adults plan to wear a witch costume, 2 million as a vampire, 1.8 million as a superhero, 1.5 million as a pirate and 1.4 million as a zombie.

  •  Witch – 8.9 percent
  •  Vampire – 3.6 percent
  •  Superhero – 3.1 percent
  •  Pirate – 2.7 percent
  •  Zombie – 2.5 percent
  •  Ghost – 2 percent
  •  Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man) – 2 percent
  •  Princess – 1.9 percent
  •  Cat – 1.8 percent
  •  Spider-Man – 1.7 percent

Pets
The survey found that 29 million people plan to dress their pets in costume for Halloween.

  •  Pumpkin – 9.3 percent
  •  Hot dog – 7.2 percent
  •  Superhero – 7.2 percent
  •  Bumble Bee – 3.9 percent
  •  Cat – 3.2 percent
  •  Witch – 2.5 percent
  •  Lion – 2.2 percent
  •  Dog – 2.1 percent
  •  Devil – 2 percent
  •  Shark – 1.7 percent

The survey of 7,419 consumers was conducted September 3-10 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

Image Sources

  • Princess Costume: Image by Luis Navas from Pixabay