One in four Australians say they will celebrate Halloween this year, with spending forecast to reach $430 million according to research from Australian Retailers Association (ARA) in collaboration with Roy Morgan.
In the first annual survey of Halloween intentions, Australians say they will celebrate in a variety of ways, including attending or hosting a Halloween themed party, decorating their homes, getting dressed up or going out and welcoming trick or treaters.
The joint research found that:
- One in four (or five million) Australians plan on celebrating Halloween this year, with spending to reach $430 million, for an average amount of $86 per person.
- For 88% of Australians celebrating Halloween, this is the same or more than they spent last year.
- People plan to celebrate by purchasing treats for ‘trick or treaters’ (mentioned by 51%), followed by getting dressed up in a Halloween costume (mentioned by 47%), decorating the home (mentioned by 40%) and attending or hosting a Halloween party (mentioned by 23%).
- Those aged 35-49 are the most likely to celebrate Halloween (37%) – equating to 1.92 million people, just ahead of those aged 18-34 (32%) – equating to 1.9 million people.
- One in five people (20%) who will celebrate Halloween say they will hold or attend a party without children.
ARA CEO Paul Zahra said Halloween continues to grow in popularity in Australia and retailers are promoting it in a big way.
“Halloween is growing in status as an Aussie tradition and has become a highly anticipated seasonal event for many retailers. Businesses are coming to the party with themed windows and store displays as part of big promotional push in the lead up to October 31,” Mr Zahra said.
“Consumers are forecast to spend $430 million on their Halloween celebrations, stocking up on food and sweets and purchasing costumes and decorations. Some families go above and beyond with lighting and decorative efforts around their homes, while hospitality venues also get involved with Halloween themed food and cocktails.
“Halloween is a great time to celebrate some spooky silliness and with five million Australians expected to do so this year, the event will help build sales momentum for retailers in the run up to Christmas.”
*The ARA-Roy Morgan Snap SMS survey was conducted with an Australian-wide cross-section of 2853 Australians aged 18+ on Monday September 19 – Wednesday September 21, 2022.
