Written by Lucy Hall and reviewed, fact-checked and signed off by a SocialDay editor before publication. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy. Spotted something wrong? Tell the newsroom.
US Halloween spending hits $13.5bn in 2026, but NRF data shows 49% of consumers started shopping in September or earlier. For brands still running discovery ads in mid-October, the window where purchase intent was highest has already closed.
The traditional Halloween marketing playbook is failing at scale, and the numbers prove it.
US consumer spending on Halloween reached $13.5bn in 2026, up from the record $13.1bn in 2025, but 49% of consumers began shopping in September or earlier according to the National Retail Federation's annual survey. For brands that still treat Halloween as a late-October sales event, that timing gap represents millions in lost revenue.
The discovery window is closing before most campaigns even launch. Roughly one-quarter of consumers had already bought at least one Halloween item by early August, which means brands running awareness ads in October are competing for a much smaller pool of remaining buyers, at higher CPMs, against competitors who captured attention weeks earlier.
Among early shoppers, 42% say they start early because they look forward to fall, while 34% say Halloween is one of their favorite holidays. This is not distress purchasing or panic buying. It is planned, enthusiastic spend from high-intent consumers who are researching, comparing, and deciding well before the date itself.
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