Insider Look at Trends
a Freaky Friday Means a Boost for Halloween 2014 The forecast calls for more superheroes, all-in-one costumes, and weekend parties as more grown-ups take part in the festivities than in recent years.
W
by Phil Guie
ith 2013 on the books, there was plenty for
the Halloween industry to cheer about.
popular movies and TV shows dominated the holiday.
the National Retail Federation (NRF), and many retail-
loween season. According to survey data from the NRF,
Total spending is estimated to have
reached $6.9 billion for Halloween 2013, according to
ers reported slightly better sales compared to 2012,
which itself was a robust year. To put things in per-
spective, spending for Halloween 2012 was estimated
at $8 billion and participation was measured at 170 million people—an all-time high. Yet with this coming
Halloween falling on a weekend, the industry has rea-
son to believe that record could be broken.
Several experts have made their predictions re-
garding Halloween trends in the coming year,
the top costumes for adults, children, and even pets for
Halloween included Superman, Spider-Man, and Bat-
man. Approximately 2.9 million adults and 2.5 million
children said they were planning to dress up as a Bat-
man character.
Superheroes Still Hot, But Villains Get to Shine,Too
This coming year should bring even more super-
heroes to Halloween retail. Rubie’s Costume Co. has
should provide a signifcant boost for retail-
characters as Spider-Man and Captain America, both of
agreed that Halloween falling on a Friday
ers. The consensus is that more adults will
participate, meaning an increase in sales for
costumes and accessories, as well as for decorations and home décor to go with parties and social events.
“What our records show [is] a 6 to 8 percent in-
crease in everything connected to adults, which tends to be about a 4 or 5 percent increase in
8 A
Last year, big screen superhero blockbusters such as
Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel translated well to the Hal-
and while there was some disagreement on what will be in versus what is on the way out, all
Spider-Man Kids Costume, from Rubie’s Costume Co.
buy, the trends are largely similar to last year, when
overall Halloween [sales],” says Howard
Beige, executive vice president of Rubie’s Cos-
tume Co. With regards to exactly what consumers will
The Halloween Insider
the license for Marvel’s entire library of characters until
2016, and expects to do well with such recognizable whom are starring in films this year.
Bernice Nesbit, director of marketing at Disguise
Inc., says the company will also introduce a range of
costumes tied to upcoming Marvel Comics-based films, including the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy.
Nesbit singles out Guardians of the Galaxy as espe-
cially promising, since it introduces a ragtag group of
superheroes that have not gotten much exposure in costumes before. At the same time, the film is part of an
ongoing storyline that ties into last year’s Thor: The Dark
World, the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Sol-
Winter 2014