But the question on many Halloween Addicts' minds' is:
"Is Halloween, like the economy, in the proverbial "la toilette?"
Will trick or treaters be getting pillow cases filled with King Size Snickers or a couple of Hershey Kisses and some pocket lint?
Thanks to CreepyLA.com I got forwarded these statistics on "Halloween Sales and Trends." The graphic (check out the full one below) lists comparisons of Halloween spending and trending between 2007 and 2009.
Let's break it all down and see what we're dealing with this Halloween season...
Halloween Over the Years/Average Halloween Spending Per Person
BUT, according to these statistics, participation DECLINED 2.4% from 2008 to 2009 and Average Halloween Spending Per Person DROPPED by $10.23.
I'm going to say this number is most likely true, and I'm basing my survey data on my longtime friend Andrew who didn't put up as many decorations in 2009 as he did in 2008. He didn't! In 2008 he had a Hallowindow display and a giant Predator scarecrow. 2009... not so much.
MY polls are of one.
Back off man, I'm a scientist.
What Consumers Are Buying Each Halloween
The rundown of what's purchased in order of popularity is:
1) Costumes.
2) Candy.
3) Decorations.
4) Greeting Cards.
No big surprises here. 'Though I would have thought "candy" would have won over "costumes." But, hey, if a bag of Wonka Mix-Ups only costs $10.98 and a "Slutty Nurse Nun Cop" costume costs $55.98 I guess I can understand.
Have you seen this year's "Slutty Nurse Nun Cop" costume, by the way?
Sexy.
Halloween Spending By Age This DID surprise me. It seems there is uniform spending from everyone between the ages of 18 and 44 years old. Crazy. What the heck is an 18 year old spending $68 a year in Halloween goods, on??!!
Too old to trick or treat... too young to think it's cool to decorate the house... hmmm... maybe 18 year olds consider Sam Adams' Octoberfest Ale "candy?"
But then once someone turns 45, that 'money spent' number drops to $54. What happened between 44 and 45? Did the person just say "You know I really oughta cut back on my Halloween spending. I'm 45 now, for cripes sakes. Well... maybe I'll just put back one Pillow-case-sized bag of Gummi Body Parts."
Think about your grandparents!
They like those .99 cent bags of cellophane-wrapped butterscotch candies and white stripes!
Or those crappy chalky mints that they have in a dish by the register at a diner! Nobody is buyin' those but them! They can get 60 bags of Circus Peanuts and black jelly beans for the price of one bag of Butterfinger Minis.
Top 10 Search Terms for Halloween
Seems to be various combinations of "costume."
I can verify this. People only seem to be searching for costume ideas. According to my Google Analytics, some of my most-read posts are ones I wrote about costumes.
(Hmmm... note to self: Write more posts about costumes...)
Gender Demographics
59% of Men participate in Halloween but a whopping 65% of Women do!
Have you seen this year's "Slutty Nurse Nun Cop" costume, by the way? Sexy.
Top 3 Ways People Celebrate Halloween
73% Hand out candy.
51% Decorate.
32% Dress in costume.
EATING candy. I mean, really, what are these people DOING?
Well there you have it. Check the big, fancy graphic below to read 'em and weep, yourself.
Let's get out there and be consumers people!
I have no doubt we can bring our 2010 "participation" numbers up to "Twilight-popularity" in no time!
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go shop for a costume.
Have you seen this year's "Slutty Nurse Nun Cop" costume, by the way?
Sexy.
[Via: ZippyCart.com: The Best Ecommerce Software Reviewed]
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9 comments:
Freaking brilliant post! Thanks! That was awesome! And, well, I got the slutty cop costume with little handcuffs on the fishnet stockings....
The female to male ration really threw me, but I guess it makes sense. The de-emphasis is decoration though is really disappointing. Do't get me wrong, the candy is essential to any Halloween festivity, but what I remember most about the holiday as a kid is getting to experience so many awesome makeshift haunted houses in a neighbor's garage or walking downtown and seeing the stores decked out in all their creepy glory. That's the where the spirit is at.
Great post. I often fear Halloween is becoming less and less of a "big deal" to many people and it will one day be of the likes of a St. Patrick's Day or a similar holiday.
We can always be guaranteed that the hardcore community will always support the holiday the way it deserves to be supported, though.
No doubt, however, the holiday is at a major disadvantage with the economic situation the country is currently in and people wanting to possibly save more money for Christmas.
Awesome post!!! Pretty cool graphic from ZippyCart.com too!
Autumnforest: Slutty cop ain't got nothin' on "Slutty Nurse Nun Cop." She's got a habit, a syringe AND a gun.
Strange Kid: Yeah that threw me too. But, yes, totally agree that decorations make the magic.
Nercopolis: Maybe it's just the city I'm in, but it seems to be as big as always where I am. I can't imagine it ever getting to be as ho-hum as green beer. It's 2nd only to Christmas!
Anonymous: Thanks!
Interesting numbers and some fantastic ideas, too. Since Halloween is going to be on a weekend this time around, I can't wait to party. But since funding is low nowadays, I'm gonna have to do something simple. Perhaps a Ken costume, from Street Fighter. It's a red karate uniform. Not that hard to do.
Very cool! Love this post! Thanks for sharing....even if it is a big sad :(
Cheers!
This was a fab post indeed. I enjoyed reading the whole thing and you made me laugh too...thanks! As for the spending being down and Necropolis' fear of Halloween disappearing...well those things are rather grim. Let's hope that doesn't happen. I've seen a decline in the amount of outdoor decorating in my neighborhood. And last year, there were a few more houses that kept their lights out and doors shut up tight on Halloween night. But it still seems to be going strong down here too. But I agree that it may be losing out a bit to Christmas spending during the down economy. I say that only because this is the first year I noticed the craft stores putting Christmas out at the same exact time as Halloween. That's just wrong!
Ben G: I agree, I think Halloween being on a Sunday and this "Halloweekend" stunt that everyone is on board with, is helping with the holiday. Plus a lot of Halloween theme parks have opened a week earlier this year. All good!
The Frog Queen: Thanks! And not "sad" really... just a reflection of the time we're living in. In 5 years when we're rolling in Halloween Merch we'll look back on this time and laugh.
Wendy: That's all I'm trying to do here at HalloweenAddict.com. Share Halloween, and make it fun.
Yeah I did notice that last year, they pushed the Halloween stuff out early and then by mid-October Christmas was already moving in.
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