WASHINGTON – There will be a lot of princesses and pumpkins trick-or-treating this Halloween.
The National Retail Federation 2012 Top Costumes survey highlights the most popular Halloween costumes this year for children, pets and adults.
Comic book heroes are expected to be popular among boys, and princesses are the top costume choice for girls. Four-legged creatures will be turned into pumpkins, devils and hot dogs, the NRF says.
Nearly 6 million adults plan to be witches this year, and 3.2 million adults will dress up as vampires, according to the survey. The next most popular costumes for kids at heart are pirates, Batman characters, zombies and vixens.
The NRF says Americans are expected to spend $2.87 billion on costumes this year, with more than $1 million on children’s costumes and $70 million on pet costumes.
The average person will spend nearly $80 on candy, costumes and decorations, which amounts to $8 billion in total, according to the NRF.
The survey of 9,393 consumers had a reported margin of error of 1 percent.
Top Children’s Costumes:
- Princess
- Batman
- Spiderman
- Witch
- Disney princess
- Action or superhero
- Pirate
- Vampire
- Zombie
- Ghost
Top Pet Costumes:
- Pumpkin
- Devil
- Hot dog
- Cat
- Bee
- Dog (tie)
- Ghost (tie)
- Action or superhero
- Witch
- Bowties/fancy collars/bandanas
- Superman
Top Adult Costumes:
- Witch
- Vampire
- Pirate
- Batman character
- Zombie
- Vixen
- Princess
- Ghost (tie)
- Nurse (tie)
- Cat
- Superman
WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report. Follow Kristi King and
