• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 5, 2004

All Hallow's Eve: An Insight on Kid's Culture

BIGresearch, in a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation (NRF), found that Spiderman will be the most popular Halloween costume for kids this year, with 2.15 million children planning to dress as their favorite superhero on October 31. Other popular costumes this year will include princesses (1.8 million children), witches (1.3 million) and vampires (899,000).

According to The NRF 2004 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, though witches, ghosts, and vampires will be out in full force this Halloween, the good guys will prevail.

NRF President and CEO, Tracy Mullin, said "With the popularity of Spiderman for Halloween this year, it's easy to see how frequently children take cues from pop culture. For retailers, identifying and ordering the most popular costumes months in advance can be the real trick to a successful Halloween."

Survey results indicate that 54.1 percent of consumers plan to buy a costume for Halloween this year. Those purchasing costumes will spend an average of $28.11. With an estimated $3.12 billion to be spent on the holiday, Halloween ranks as the sixth-largest spending holiday of the year.

Top Halloween Costumes for Kids, 2004

	Rank	Percent	# of Children
Spiderman	1	8.4%	2,150,116
Princess	2	7.2%	1,837,372
Witch	3	5.0%	1,290,069
Vampire	4	3.5%	899,139
Monster	5	3.2%	820,953
SpongeBob	6	2.9%	742,767
Ninja	7	2.6%	664,581
Athlete	8	2.1%	547,302
Ghost	9	2.1%	547,302
Power Rangers	10	2.1%	547,302
Angel	11	1.7%	430,023
Pumpkin	12	1.5%	390,930
Batman	13	1.4%	351,837
Yu Gi Oh	14	1.4%	351,837
Pop Star	15	1.2%	312,744
Barbie	16	1.1%	273,651
Harry Potter Character	17	1.1%	273,651
Pirate	18	1.1%	273,651
Clown	19	0.9%	234,558
Firefighter	20	0.9%	234,558

Source: NRF 2004 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey/BIGresearch

More information from www.nrf.com.