Shoppers in Teesside are gearing up for a bumper Halloween as research shows that they plan to spend nearly £35 on costumes, decorations and sweets for trick or treaters – almost double the amount spent just five years ago.
The survey of 2,000 adults, commissioned by Teesside, also revealed that more than half (55%) of Teesside’s residents will be celebrating by donning fancy dress this year, and 1 in 6 are planning to carve pumpkins.
With this in mind, Teesside has dubbed Saturday 29th October ‘Spooky Saturday’ as the region’s retailers prepare for a surge in scary sales – £6,104,018 in the run-up to Halloween.
In the survey, almost a half (48%) of people in Teesside said that Facebook was their biggest inspiration for Halloween costumes and decorations, with spooky films influencing 1 in 4 (26%). Just 4% of people say they’ll be happy to wear the same outfit as they did last year.
As excitement builds for the upcoming Harry Potter film launch next month, it’s perhaps not surprising that witches and wizards are the region’s most popular costume choice. Nearly a third (30%) of those surveyed will be dressing themselves or their families up with wands and broomsticks.
Residents in Teesside should also expect a knock on the door from vampires (33%), zombies (33%) and to greet the odd trick-or-treating skeleton (22%).
Mike Clarke, Centre Manager at Teesside said: “Halloween has really exploded in popularity over the last few years with people buying increasingly elaborate costumes and decorations.
“We’re expecting a record number of shoppers over Halloween weekend as people stock up on last-minute sweet treats for party guests and trick-or-treaters.”