Goblins and candy bars: Retailers could be in for a treat in 2021

‘Tis the season for candy, costumes, and scary movies. As Halloween approaches, expect retailers and analysts to closely monitor consumer spending and other trends.

Halloween is the second biggest spending holiday in the United States, trumping Thanksgiving, Easter, the Fourth of July, and all the rest.

And Halloween spending has grown considerably over the years. Back in 2006, Americans spent “just” $4.96 billion. In 2017, spending peaked at $9.1 billion before cooling to $8.8 billion in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic put a bit of a damper on the 2020 Halloween season, with some families skipping or cutting back on trick-or-treating, parties, and other celebrations. The National Retail Federation estimates that spending dropped to $8.05 billion.

What about the 2021 Halloween season? Candy giant Hershey conducted a survey and found that 54 percent of consumers were likely to buy more candy this year, and trick-or-treating could be up by as much as 45 percent.

If so, that could bode well for retailers and trick-or-treaters alike.

The COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors, impacted consumer expenditures across the board in 2020 with annual Real Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) falling by 3.9 percent. Now, accounting giant Deloitte projects PCE to rise by roughly 7.6 percent in 2021 compared to a year prior.

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation regularly conducts spending surveys and so far has found that back-to-college/school and Mother’s/Father’s Day spending has likely increased in 2021.