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While Halloween has some deep roots and interesting traditions around the world, these days, it’s highly commercialised. Here is a roundup of Halloween spending trends from around the world.
From Europe to the United States, it’s undeniable that Halloween spending is up—and the numbers continue to rise. In the US, Americans spent over $9 billion on Halloween in 2018. Across the pond in the UK, which is a fraction of the size, Halloween spending was up to $419 million the same year.
Think what you will about the holiday of horrors, but Halloween is going global. Let’s take a look at some statistics from around the world.
EUROPE
- 49% of Brits spend money on Halloween every year.
- 19% of adults in the UK celebrate Halloween.
- 37% of German millennials plan to dress up in a costume.
- Spain is the number one producer of pumpkins in the European Union.
UNITED STATES
- 175 million Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year.
- 41.1 million potential trick-or-treaters aged 5–14 will amass on Halloween night, according to the US Census Bureau.
- Nearly 70,000 acres of pumpkins are harvested annually in the United States.
- Horror movies grossed $752.2 million in 2018.
CANADA
- $550 million is the average value of cookie, candy, and snack food sales during October.
- 3.9 million potential trick-or-treaters are expected in Canada, aged 5–14 years old.
- “Halloween apples” is a phrase used in some parts of Canada by trick-or-treaters requesting candy.
- $3.8 million worth of Halloween costumes is manufactured in Canada.
ASIA
- 20 million Japanese citizens celebrate Halloween.
- 90% of people in the Philippines know of or celebrate Halloween.
- Less than 50% of people in India recognise Halloween.
- Bangkok, Thailand boasts some of the best Halloween parties in the world, although many of their citizens don’t celebrate the holiday.
So, there you have it. Although it seems the United States is currently outdoing the world when it comes to commercial, modern-day Halloween celebrations, other countries are quickly catching up. We can surely expect to see increased Halloween spending over the coming years.
