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This Is Halloween: A $6.9 Billion Industry
AND SO WE ARRIVE AT THE ONE WEEKEND OF THE YEAR when murderers and witches, freaks and creeps, are welcome to roam indiscriminately. Thank god there’s a surge in patrolling superheroes too.
The U.S.’s second favorite holiday is here, which translates to party time for an estimated 148 million Americans who will spend a a total of $6.9 billion on Halloween madness this year, according to the National Retail Federation.
About 41 million kids will hit the streets trying to wangle candy from their friends and neighbors, with the average person spending $72.31 on Halloween-related items, up from $66.28 last year.
Before the weekend’s out, the average consumer will have spent $21.05 on Halloween candy, $26.52 on costumes and $19.79 on decorations. And of the 73 percent of the population handing out candy, 52 percent of those will be dishing out chocolate; another third will distribute hard candy or lollipops.
Collectively, the nation’s farmers will produce 1.11 billion in pumpkins with a total value of $116.5 million.
The numbers add up to a whole lot of spooky fun for fans of the holiday.
Below is a video of Ray Villafane, a sculptor who spends October plying his art to gourds. Watch how he transforms an ordinary pumpkin into a creepy work of art. Enjoy the holiday, and don’t let anyone trick you out of a good time.
