Halloween in AmericaNo. 5973 · The 2026 edition
Top 2015 Halloween Trends
Get ready for a blast from the past! Explore the spookiest and most popular Halloween trends that took 2015 by storm.
Our own summary of the original — the full post and photos live at web.archive.org.
This guide covers the top Halloween trends of 2015, including must-have costumes inspired by hit movies and TV shows, trending decorations, and the year's most popular candies. Perfect for nostalgia or planning a retro-themed Halloween.
About this
A SlideShare deck presenting the National Retail Federation's 2015 Halloween Consumer Spending Survey, conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics. It walks through total Halloween spending, participation rates, costume and pet-costume trends, where consumers (especially millennials) look for costume inspiration, and when Americans start their Halloween shopping. It is a statistics-driven consumer-trends presentation rather than coverage of a specific movie, show, book, podcast or game, so the closest content category is entertainment.
The list
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01
Halloween By The Numbers 2015
Total spending $6.9B; 157 million celebrating; average spend $74; adult costumes $1.2B; kids' costumes $950M
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02
Millennials Are More Likely To Participate In Spooktacular Halloween Activities 2015
81% of 18-34s celebrate; millennial vs total population comparisons on costumes and parties
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03
68 Million Americans Will Dress In Costume 2015
How Americans celebrate, 2010-2015 chart; 45% / 49 million host or attend a party
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04
Fido And Kitty Are More Likely To Share In Halloween Celebrations With Their Millennial Caretakers 2015
20 million people dress pets; $350M pet costume spending; 1 in 5 millennials vs 13% of adults
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05
Halloween Gets Social: Pinterest Reigns As Top Place For Millennials To Find Costume Inspiration 2015
Pinterest 25% of millennials vs 13% of adults; Instagram 16% vs 7%
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06
How Will Millennials Look For Costume Ideas? 2015
Online search 49%, retail store/costume shop 34%, pop culture 24%, current events 11%, social channels
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07
Cooler Weather Brings Boom In Halloween Shopping 2015
41% begin in first two weeks of October; 28% last two weeks; 25% September; 6% before September
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08
Survey Methodology 2015
Polls 6,000+ consumers yearly; margin of error between +/-1 and 1.3 percentage points
Where to watch: SlideShare
Facts from the original
- NRF's 2015 Halloween Consumer Spending Survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to Halloween spending.
- The survey was conducted for NRF by Prosper Insights & Analytics.
- The poll surveyed 6,754 consumers between September 1 and 8, 2015.
- The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.
- The presentation was published on September 22, 2015 by the National Retail Federation.
- Total Halloween spending in 2015 was $6.9 billion.
- Average Halloween spending per person in 2015 was $74.
- Spending on adult costumes was $1.2 billion.
- Spending on children's costumes was $950 million.
- 157 million Americans planned to celebrate Halloween in 2015.
- The deck charts total Halloween spending and the percentage of Americans celebrating across 2005-2015, with celebration rates mostly in the 60s and 70s percent range.
- 81% of consumers aged 18-34 planned to celebrate Halloween.
- Millennials were more likely than the general population to take part in Halloween activities.
- 7 in 10 millennials planned to dress in costume, versus 44% of the total population.
- Nearly half of millennials planned to throw or attend a party (48%), versus 32% of the general population.
- About one-third of millennials planned to visit a haunted house.
- 1 in 5 millennials planned to dress their pets in costumes (20%), versus 13% of all adults.
- 68 million Americans planned to dress in costume.
- 49 million people planned to host or attend a Halloween party, corresponding to 45%.
- Americans also planned to hand out candy, decorate their home or yard, and dress their pets in costume.
- 20 million people planned to dress their pets in costumes.
- Total spending on pet costumes was $350 million.
- Pinterest was the top place for millennials to find costume inspiration: 25% of millennials planned to use Pinterest, versus 13% of average adults.
- 16% of millennials planned to use Instagram for costume inspiration, versus 7% of average adults.
- Millennials' sources for costume ideas: online search 49%; within a retail store or costume shop 34%; pop culture such as celebrities, TV shows and movies 24%; current events 11%; Facebook 23%; Instagram 16%; Pinterest 25%; Twitter 9%; YouTube 15%.
- 4 in 10 Americans begin shopping for Halloween within the first two weeks of October (41%).
- 28% shop in the last two weeks of October, and one-quarter of Americans wait until the last minute.
- 25% begin Halloween shopping in September.
- 6% begin Halloween shopping before September.
- The NRF/Prosper Insights & Analytics Halloween Spending Survey polls more than 6,000 consumers each year and has a margin of error between +/-1 and 1.3 percentage points.
