Pumpkin festival
Consumers want to spend less money on Halloween
Trick or treating? Halloween is popular in Germany and is celebrated by many. For the first time in years, however, the willingness to stock up on new costumes or make-up is decreasing.
Costumes, make-up, sweets – people in Germany have been spending more and more money on the Halloween festival for years. This time it will probably be a little less. This is shown by a survey by the IFH Cologne on behalf of the German Trade Association (HDE).
Retailers expect additional sales of around 520 million euros. That is almost 4 percent less than last year, when it was around 540 million euros. Consumers want to save money, especially on jewelry, accessories, costumes, make-up and decorations. The HDE suspects that many are still well cared for from previous years.
One in three people plan to spend less overall on Halloween than last year. At 15 percent it will be more, at 52 percent it will be the same as in 2024. However, the proportion of consumers who want to buy something around the pumpkin festival is stable at around 15 percent.
Sales more than 60 percent higher than 2019
Halloween traditionally takes place on October 31st – the eve of All Saints Day. Children parade around the neighborhood in costumes and ask for candy. The festival has become increasingly important for trade in recent years. In 2019, Halloween sales were around 320 million euros, but a significant increase was recorded after the pandemic. Despite the decline, spending this year is expected to be 63 percent higher than in 2019.
“Halloween remains an important sales stimulus for many retail companies this year,” says HDE Managing Director Stefan Genth. The fact that revenues do not reach the previous year’s level is not surprising given the difficult conditions for consumption.
In October, the IFH Cologne conducted a representative survey of more than 1,000 people in Germany between the ages of 18 and 69 on the topic.
dpa
Source: Stern
