Decor to BuyNo. 3970 · The 2026 edition
Halloween-Thanksgiving-Hanukkah-Christmas-New-Year Buying Begins
The countdown to the spookiest to the brightest celebrations begins now—plan your buys from Halloween to New Year's Day.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at web.archive.org.
A strategic overview for starting your holiday shopping early, covering Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year to avoid last-minute stress and snag the best deals.
About this
An NPR business story from Oct. 22, 2014, about retailer optimism heading into the combined Halloween-through-New-Year shopping season. It reports the National Retail Federation's Halloween and holiday sales forecasts, decorations and candy price trends, holiday spending survey figures, and predictions for top searched costumes and Christmas gifts.
Facts from the original
- Most merchants were optimistic, predicting strong sales throughout the peak holiday shopping period.
- At big-box stores, Halloween costumes were displayed next to decorative turkey napkins and pre-lit Christmas trees.
- The National Retail Federation predicted Halloween revenues of $7.4 billion, up from $6.9 billion the previous year.
- Decorations were expected to drive much of Halloween spending, up to $2 billion.
- Oct. 31 fell on a Friday in 2014, allowing for more Halloween parties.
- Halloween candy was expected to cost at most a few pennies more than the year before.
- IHS Global Insight U.S. economist Chris Christopher said Halloween candy price inflation had slowed because of depressed raw sugar and refined sugar beet prices.
- Gasoline prices had dropped to around $3 a gallon, making it cheaper to drive to Halloween parties.
- Chris Christopher said last year's federal government shutdown in the first half of October had dampened consumer mood before Halloween and the holiday retail season.
- The National Retail Federation predicted a robust increase in spending in the final two months of the year.
- The NRF's annual Consumer Spending Survey found the average person celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa and/or Hanukkah would spend $804.42, up nearly 5 percent from last year's actual $767.27.
- Prosper principal analyst Pam Goodfellow said consumers felt better about their situation than a year earlier and might stretch their dollars for memorable holiday gifts.
- Antoine Kent, visiting New York City, was shopping for a ninja costume for his 8-year-old godson and believed the economy was strengthening enough for more holiday spending.
- Yahoo reported the most searched-for Halloween costumes of the year included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Frozen princesses.
- By Christmas, analysts predicted the hottest gifts would include iPhones, digital fitness products and video games.
- The report was published Oct. 22, 2014, by NPR business correspondent Marilyn Geewax, with NPR Business Desk intern Robert Szypko contributing.
From the original
Retailers entered the long Halloween-Thanksgiving-Hanukkah-Christmas-New-Year shopping stretch feeling optimistic, betting that a strong Halloween would carry momentum into the peak spending months. Big-box stores blurred the seasons, stacking Halloween costumes beside turkey napkins and pre-lit Christmas trees. The National Retail Federation projected Halloween revenues of $7.4 billion, led by up to $2 billion in decorations, and forecast a robust rise in spending in the year's final two months. A Friday Oct. 31, stable candy prices, cheaper gasoline and a Congress not in session all fed the upbeat mood.
