With just a week left until Halloween, it’s the perfect time to ask: how are you planning to spend the eve of All Saints’ Day? Will you be dressing up in spooky costumes and decorating your home with skeletons, eerie pumpkin lanterns, and all the classic Halloween frights?
The question isn’t trivial; if we believe the statistics, the very idea of a ghostly Halloween might be changing. According to researchers at Finder, fewer Americans are planning to include pumpkins in their Halloween celebrations this year. Only 43% of the population—around 145 million people—plan to buy pumpkins to make jack-o’-lanterns, down from 46% (154 million people) in 2023.
While this may sound like good news for bargain hunters—pumpkin prices have dropped to an average of $5.26, compared to $5.47 last year—it’s not as positive for the producers and sellers of these festive staples. Reduced interest in pumpkins has led to a 10% decrease in spending on them, with Americans projected to spend about $762.8 million this year, down from $843.6 million in 2023. Let’s hope this sharp $80 million dip isn’t signaling a lasting decline in what seems like a stable holiday tradition.
Pre-holiday spirits have also been dampened by other statistics. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts that overall Halloween spending in 2024 will decline. Last year saw record-breaking expenditures, with Americans shelling out $12.2 billion for Halloween festivities, but this year, that number is expected to drop to $11.6 billion.
Is it frightening? Perhaps not for an economy as big as the United States. But if this year’s dip in pumpkin sales and holiday shopping becomes a trend, the impact could reach far beyond the pumpkin patch. Halloween is not just about festive porch decor and handing out candy to the neighborhood kids—it’s a major seasonal economy.
Tourism is one of the most impacted sectors. Specifically, scream tourism—an increasingly popular Halloween-themed travel phenomenon that attracts millions of thrill-seeking tourists to the U.S. each year. According to Travel And Tour World, scream tourism is currently experiencing notable growth, as people plan trips to haunted houses, ghost tours, and historical horror sites. This shift has transformed Halloween from a local celebration into a major travel event nationwide.
As America Haunts, an association of haunted attractions, reports, these venues attract significant visitor numbers. Many are designed to offer immersive, professional-level scares, making them bucket-list destinations for thrill-seekers.
Theme parks are also seeing strong Halloween-season traffic. As The Guardian notes, major parks like Universal Studios and Six Flags have expanded their Halloween offerings, often starting events as early as August, with special Halloween-themed attractions driving up attendance during this season.
The popularity of scream tourism is evident in cities like Salem, Massachusetts, known for its historic witch trials. According to Fox News, Salem recorded 1.2 million visitors in the five weeks leading up to Halloween in 2023.
And while we’re on the subject of witches, it’s worth mentioning that in 2024, the most popular Halloween costume for adults is once again the classic witch. Halloween spending on costumes alone is expected to reach $3.8 billion this year, with $1.8 billion going toward adult costumes, $1.3 billion on kids’ costumes, and $0.7 billion on costumes for pets.
Speaking of costumes, there’s a curious contrast this year. While fewer people may be carving pumpkins, the pumpkin remains a popular costume choice—for pets, at least. According to the NRF, the top costume for pets in 2024 is the iconic pumpkin, a playful nod to the very symbol of the holiday that’s seeing reduced demand in its natural form. As for kids, it seems many little superheroes will be donning Spiderman costumes, ringing doorbells with a cheerful “Trick or Treat!”
