Halloween consumer shopping patterns are changing, with holiday sales expected to fall by $600 million from the record-high figures of 2023.

Following record-high sales of $12.2 billion in 2023, U.S. consumer spending on Halloween items, e.g. candy, decorations, and costumes, is forecast to decrease by $600 million, ending up at a $11.6 billion mark, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

Despite the significant drop, this year still remains the second-highest Halloween spending forecast within the past decade. Halloween participants are expected to spend an average of $103.63 each, down $4.62 from last year’s peak of $108.24.

Besides the subdued spending, Halloween preparations in the U.S. are showing changing patterns compared to the previous years. NRF observes that 47% of its annual survey participants began their Halloween shopping before October. This illustrates a significant surge in people aiming to spread out their holiday purchases over a longer term. To compare, this share stood at 37% five years ago and 32% in 2014.

Early demand for Halloween items is driven by looking forward to the fall season (48%), avoiding the stress of last-minute shopping (38%), or Halloween being the shoppers’ favourite holiday (37%). Retailers like Home Depot have also contributed to the early shopping trend, beginning to advertise Halloween items at reduced prices as early as April under a “Halfway to Halloween” sale category.

Candy leads Halloween spending categories, with $3.5 billion anticipated in sales, followed by decorations and costumes at $3.8 billion each and greeting cards at $0.5 billion. Despite the general sales decline, the National Confectioners Association (NCA) reported that Halloween generated $6.4 billion in candy retail sales in 2023, and is expected to bring an increase of 3-5% in 2024.

Many customers would also like to save some money on their Halloween shopping, with discount stores (37%) remaining the top destination to buy Halloween items, followed by speciality Halloween/costume stores (33%) and dedicated online stores (33%).

BNPL services like Zip or Sezzle also offer flexible payment options for Halloween costume purchases.