# U.S. Halloween Spending Forecast Reaches $13.5 Billion in 2026

By John Kim

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/business/42438
Published: 2026-10-28T07:45:46.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-28T07:45:46.000Z
Section: Business

> A separate survey found 43% of Gen Z celebrators and 40% of parents with children younger than 18 expect to go into debt.

U.S. consumers are projected to spend $13.5 billion on Halloween in 2026, while a separate survey found 24% of celebrators expect to go into debt for the holiday.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast would exceed the prior year’s record of $13.1 billion. Average spending is projected at $115.14 per person, compared with $114.45 in 2025. Those figures reflect planned purchases, not a final tally of Halloween sales.

The NRF survey asked 7,889 consumers about their Halloween plans from Sept. 1-9, 2026. Its margin of error was plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

In the separate online survey, 24% of Halloween celebrators expected to go into debt. The share was 43% among Gen Z adults ages 18 to 29 and 40% among parents with children younger than 18. Millennials, ages 30 to 45, were at 35%. The debt figure measures expectations; it does not establish how many people ultimately borrowed or how much they owe.

Budget concerns also appeared in respondents’ plans. Sixty-one percent of celebrators said economic uncertainty would lead them to skip some purchases, while 85% said they were taking at least one step to save money.

The second survey ran Sept. 2-7, 2026, among 2,000 U.S. consumers. It used an online nonprobability sample with quotas. Among celebrators, average planned spending was $162, down from $192 in 2025. That figure covers celebrators, while the NRF’s $115.14 is an average per person, so the measures are not directly comparable.

“Consumers continue to make Halloween a spending priority, but they are also approaching the season with affordability in mind,” said Allison Zeller, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights.

Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at GlobalData, said consumers may still spend to make children feel good about the holiday. “It’s really important to make the kids feel good, so that’s an area where consumers will often splash out a bit.”