It's looking like spooky season this year will mean record sales on all sorts of Halloween goods -- everything from costumes an candy to mammoth props and animatronics -- despite the looming specter of higher prices.
Halloween spending is expected to hit $13.1 billion this year despite the worry over tariffs increasing costs for consumers. That's a sizable jump over last years $11.6 billion and bests the previous record of $12.2 billion set in 2023.
"Even with concerns about price increases due to tariffs, Halloween continues to resonate with consumers of all ages," the National Retail Federation's Vice President of Industry and Consumer Insights Katherine Cullen said in a recent news release.
The group's annual Halloween consumer survey for 2025 indicates 79% of consumers expect higher prices directly related to tariffs.
Despite that, 73% plan to celebrate Halloween, up slightly from 72% in 2024. The survey by Prosper Insights & Analytics polled 8,045 consumers about their Halloween shopping plans. It was conducted Sept. 2-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.
Candy will be the most popular spending category according to the survey with 95% of respondents saying they'll buy some for Halloween with total spending expected to reach $3.9 billion. It also notes about 71% of respondents plan to purchase costumes and spending is expected to reach $4.3 billion in that category.
Per-person consumer spending is expected to hit $114.45, up 10% from $103.63 last year and 6% from $108.24 for 2023.
Home improvement stores have been moving into the Halloween space, with the survey indicating 14% of Halloween shoppers intend to visit stores like Home Depot, Lowe's and Tractor Supply. That's a 5% increase from 9% last year and higher than 8% for 2023.
In response to emailed questions, Aubrey Horowitz, who holds the job title merchant of decorative holiday at The Home Depot, said the store first moved into Halloween decor in 2013 and since then consumer interest has steadily grown. She said 2020 was when Home Depot really turned a corner in its commitment to Halloween shoppers with the introduction of its 12-foot Giant-Sized Skelly skeleton, which was a hit and sold out quickly nationwide.
"The viral response led us not only to continue offering Skelly, but to grow our product assortment to what it is now, with even more Giant-Sized animatronics, inflatables, licensed characters and more frighteningly fun products," Horowitz said.
She said the store works to offer a variety of products at various price points but noted the larger animatronics are top rated and increase in popularity year after year.
"Most notably this year, we introduced the ultimate interactive showstopper, the 6.5-foot Animated LED App-Controlled Ultra Skelly, with Bluetooth capabilities that allow users to interact in real time with trick-or-treaters," Horowitz said.
She said Home Depot has consistently offered value for its customers regardless of macro conditions.
"In fact, the 12-foot Giant-Sized Skelly, returned at its original price of $299 - the same since his debut in 2020," Horowitz said. "We have tremendous sourcing flexibility and will continue working hard to bring customers innovative products at a great value."
Also this year, Home Depot added its new Gruesome Grounds Collection inspired by "eerie forest settings" including a 15-foot Giant-Sized Animated LED Worricrow, Home Depot's tallest-ever fully molded animatronic, and 8-foot Giant-Sized Color Changing Animated LED Wyvern.
Getting product in stores earlier in the year is also key, she said.
"Since 2020, we have been launching our Halloween collection online in late July or early August to build excitement with our loyal Halloween enthusiasts," Horowitz said. "Home Depot's Halloween collection appeared in stores the week of Labor Day (which is also consistent with previous years' timing)."
LEANING INTO HALLOWEEN
According to the National Retail Federation's survey 49% of shoppers began to grab Halloween goodies in September or even earlier, up 2% from last year.
In response to emailed questions, Melissa Handy, senior vice president and general merchandising manager for Lowe's said the store has been offering Halloween decor for years but it really started to see traction when it began to lean into the season earlier in the year, giving consumers more time to shop. It also expanded its Halloween offerings to meet customer demand for larger, more bombastic outdoor displays.
"This year we kicked off Halfway to Halloween on April 30 with fan-favorite animatronics like the Kraken and Reaper Band, followed by our Haunted Mansion collection on June 5, expanded to additional fan favorites like Stitch, Tim Burton, and skeletons on June 19, and then rolled out our full assortment in stores on August 18," Handy said. "By launching Halfway to Halloween in April, then Early Halloween in June, and following with our full in-store assortment in August, we've been able to capture excitement at multiple points in the year. We used a similar cadence last year, and the engagement showed us that early drops not only drive excitement but also repeat visits and strong sell-through."
In addition to the phased launches that hype demand, Handy said the store's strategy is to offer a variety of products for that meet different needs and price points. This year's Lowe's has seen some product sell out quickly and Handy said the company has kept prices competitive despite tariff concerns.
"At Lowe's, we don't just put out Halloween decor, we create cultural moments," Handy explained. "We differentiate ourselves by leading with the earliest phased launches, bringing in exclusive licensed collections, and offering limited-quantity items that drive real urgency and excitement."
CARVING A NICHE
Craig N. Geiger, program director - Master of Science in Marketing at the University of Arkansas Sam M. Walton College of Business and an instructor in its Marketing Department teaching retail strategy -- said home improvement stores are gaining ground with consumers by carving out a clear niche in the marketplace.
National retailers, like Walmart and Target, serve more as one stop shops, primarily focused on candy and other Halloween general products; specialty stores, like Spirit Halloween are a mainly about costumes and accessories, along with indoor decor for more devoted Halloween aficionados and smattering of animatronics; this leaves outdoor decor and the higher end and often dramatic animatronics for those who love to decorate primarily outside their home, firmly in the court of home improvement stores, who have moved into the space with gusto.
"They've been really good about selection, devoting selling space," he explained. "And they really got out there in the social media world, and buzz marketing, with some of their Halloween announcements."
A key difference, Geiger said, between big store retail and the home improvement segment where Halloween is concerned is timing. The home improvement stores don't have to compete in the back to school space in July, August and September, and allows them to start selling Halloween products sooner.
He said the home improvement stores were active on social media as early as April, telling customers mark their calendars since it was halfway to Halloween and that those promotions got a lot of traction with shoppers and often offered limited chances to purchase decor then and there.
"It gives them an opportunity," Geiger said of the home improvement stores. "They have their assortment curated, I think really well, for their area of the business, for their channel, and for their strategy. And with that, they now have a track record plus some of these channels are getting better and better at getting their message out by social media marketing."
VIRAL SKELETAL COWS
According to the National Retail Federation survey, 78% of consumers are expected to spend a total $4.2 billion this year on Halloween decor. Hanging decor, like lights and cobwebs, are the most popular Halloween decorations according to the survey. Meanwhile 17% of consumers said will buy inflatables, animatronics or other large lawn displays.
Tractor Supply moved strongly into the Halloween space in 2023 when its skeletal cow prop went viral, Cerentha Harris, Tractor Supply senior director of content strategy said in response to emailed questions.
"That was the moment we realized just how much enthusiasm our customers had for fun, farm-inspired Halloween pieces that reflected their lifestyle," she said.
Customers flocked to Tractor Supply's playful Halloween decor and shared their finds and social media generating more interest, she said. Farm inspired skeletons are still big favorites but this year the store has added animatronics like its "Deviled Eggs" featuring haunted hatchling chicks and a six-foot animated scarecrow to fit in with haunted farm scenes.
"The ability to take everyday farm life and give it a playful Halloween twist excites our customers," Harris said.
The UA's Geiger said Tractor Supply has been exceptional in identifying its key consumer and playing to their likes and wants in general but it also pays off where Halloween is concerned.
"They have very clear strategy -- farm, ranch and suburban and they've hit that with their (Halloween) decor," he said.
While home improvement stores are gaining interest from Halloween shoppers, 42% of shoppers still plan to hit big-box discount stores, up 5% from a year ago with 31% expecting to shop in Halloween/costume stores and 31% expecting to do some online shopping.
Geiger said many stores began offering discounts and clearance on select Halloween items even in early October.
"There's a trend I think not only to be early but to take some items as draws to be early with discounts," Geiger said. "
Fears of higher prices because of tariffs is an overall worry with consumers, he said, but it seems to have little direct effect so far on how they're actually spending. Geiger said there's little indication that tariff fears will result in any sort of Halloween pullback by consumers.
"In other words, 'I'm not doing anything different,'" he said of shoppers this season.
Halloween decorations are displayed Monday, Sept. 29, 2025 at Home Depot at 675 E. Joyce Blvd. in Fayetteville. Home improvement stores have been moving into the Halloween space in recent years adding offerings like props and animatronics. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Caleb Grieger)