New Yorkers Spend A Frightening Amount On Halloween

Counting the cash (Dave Surgan).

New Yorkers love Halloween, sure, but we didn't realize how much until the New York City Economic Development Corporation told us. Would you believe that New Yorkers spend approximately a quarter billion dollars on Halloween costumes/candy/cards/decorations every year? That is a lot of candy, candy corn bagels, and costumes!

Except it isn't just candy and costumes for your dogs. According to data from the National Retail Federation, the breakdown for New Yorker's All Hallow's Eve spending looks like this: Costumes (37%), Candy (29%), Decorations (26%) and Greeting Cards (8%). Which leads us to wonder, who in the world is buying $20 million dollars worth of Halloween greeting cards? We've certainly never gotten one!

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By Garth Johnston in News on October 29, 2011 9:13 AM

Comments [rss]

AaronRed99

I've counted at least six pop-up Halloween stores in the Union Square alone. It's madness.

schmeep

Some more stats:

95% of the candy purchased on Halloween is deliberately over-bought so that it can be consumed by the purchaser.

98% of said candy is chocolate-based (usu. bar), while the majority of 'treated' (dispensed) candy consists of Dots, Now&Laters, Jujubes, and stale Sugar Babies.