Halloween Spending in Nevada to Reach $197 Million

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 5, 2023

Contact: Bryan Wachter (775) 771-8969 | Bryan@RANNV.org

Halloween Spending in Nevada to Reach $197 Million Participation at Highest Level Ever Retailers across Nevada are gearing up for a night filled with costumes, candy, and frights.

Nevada consumers are projected to set a new spending record of $197.3 million on sugary sweets, eerie decorations, and dazzling costumes to celebrate Halloween this year, according to estimates by the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN). Nationally, an all-time high expenditure of $12.2 billion is projected based on a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF). In 2023, 73 percent of consumers reported they planned to take part in the holiday, marking the highest participation rate in the survey’s history.

In Nevada, consumers are expected to spend an estimated $67.1 million on Halloween costumes. According to the NRF survey, witches, vampires, Barbie and Batman are among the most favored adult costumes this year. When it comes to children’s costumes, SpiderMan remains the top choice, as it was in 2022, followed by princesses, ghosts, and superheroes. Furthermore, there is a growing trend of dressing up pets for the occasion, with top choices for four-legged friends being pumpkins, hot dogs, bats and bumblebees.

Home decorations are projected to be the second-most lucrative spending category in Nevada, with $63.4 million in statewide spending. Almost all celebrants (96 percent) plan to purchase candy, with total projected sales of $50.3 million, making sweets the third-highest revenue generator for retailers in Nevada. Greeting cards come in fourth place, with projected sales of $9.0 million. www.RANNV.org

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The most popular Halloween activity this year is expected to be handing out candy (68 percent), representing a 1 percentage-point increase from 2022. Other popular activities include decorating homes (53 percent), dressing up in costume (50 percent), carving pumpkins (46 percent) and hosting or attending parties (32 percent).

According to the NRF, the primary source of Halloween costume inspiration is online searches (37 percent). Other sources of inspiration include retail stores and costume shops (28 percent), as well as friends or family (20 percent). The preferred shopping destinations for Halloween-related items include discount stores, with 40 percent of survey respondents planning to shop there, followed by specialty Halloween and costume stores (39 percent), online stores (32 percent), grocery stores and supermarkets (28 percent), department stores (25 percent), and craft or fabric stores (13 percent).

Throughout the Silver State, numerous retail stores are open year-round to meet the heightened Halloween demand. Additionally, several temporary stores from the national chain Spirit Halloween have emerged in retail centers across the valley. According to the company’s website, there are approximately 13 Spirit Halloween locations scattered throughout Southern Nevada and three locations scattered in the Reno area. Typically, Spirit Halloween operates its temporary stores for eight to 10 weeks each year, with closures occurring in early November.

www.RANNV.org

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