Superheroes take the crown from princesses as top Halloween costume this year

More children this year will be celebrating Halloween dressed as their favorite superhero. Princess costumes dropped to the No. 2 spot after being the top costume for 11 years, according to a survey conducted by the National Retail Federation.

Spending on Halloween costumes is expected to reach $3.1 billion, with 67 percent of those celebrating Halloween planning to purchase costumes this year. 

More than 3 million children will dress up as their favorite action or superhero, 2.9 million will dress up as their favorite princess, and 2.5 million plan to dress up as a cat, dog, bunny, or other animal.

Children's costumes

1. Action/superhero
2. Princess
3. Animal – cat, dog, lion, monkey, or other animal
4. Batman character
5. Star Wars character
6. Tie: Witch and DC superhero, excluding Batman
7. Frozen character – Anna, Elsa, or Olaf
8. Marvel superhero – excluding Spiderman
9. Zombie
10. Spiderman

For millennials, more than 9 percent will choose a Batman costume, 6.1 percent witch hats and brooms, and 5 percent an animal. 

Adults 18 to 34-years-old

1. Batman character – Batman, Harley Quinn, The Joker, or another character
2. Witch
3. Animal – cat, dog, bunny, or other animal
4. Tie: Marvel superhero - Deadpool, Spiderman, or other charter – and DC Superhero – Wonder Woman, Superman, and others but excluding Batman
5. Vampire
6. Video game character
7. Slasher movie villain – Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, and other characters
8. Pirate
9. Star Wars character
10. Zombie

Older adults also are dressing up for Halloween. While most adults will select a witch or pirate costume, more than 4 percent will focus on current events such as the presidential election for their costume theme.

Adults 35-plus

1. Witch
2. Pirate
3. Political – Trump, Clinton, or other political figure
4. Vampire
5. Batman character – Batman, Catwoman, or other characters
6. Animal – cat, dog, bunny, or other character
7. Tie: DC Superhero – Superman, Wonder Woman, or other character excluding Batman – and Star Wars character
8. Tie: Ghost and Zombie
9. Scary costume/mask
10. Marvel superhero – Iron Man, Hulk, Spiderman, or other character 

Sixteen percent of consumers plan to dress their pets in costume this year. Pumpkin, hot dog, and bumble bee are at the top of the list again this year.

Pets

1. Pumpkin
2. Hot Dog
3. Bumble Bee
4. Tie: Lion and Star Wars character
5. Devil
6. Batman character
7. Witch
8. Superman
9. Action/superhero
10. Cat

Copyright 2016, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

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