Canadian households planning to spend $75 on Halloween

Canadian parents plan to spend an average $75 this year on Halloween purchases, with most households planning to dish out about the same amount as last year, according to a Retail Council of Canada survey.

The figure is slightly lower than in the U.S., where The Washington Post reports consumers are expected to spend about $80 each on candy, costumes and festive decorations.

“Consumer confidence is holding steady, which is a good sign for retailers,” Diane J. Brisebois, chief executive of RCC, said in a press release. “Halloween is the third most important retail season of the year, after Christmas and Back to School.”

The larger the household, the bigger the Halloween budget, the RCC report explains. Whereas people living on their own have earmarked $24 for the spookiest holiday of the year, families of three or four intend to spend $66 and $75, respectively.

And of that budget, most or all of it will go to candy. The survey shows fully half of respondents planning to devote 75 to 100 per cent of their budget to the “treats” portion of “trick or treat.”

Regional differences in Halloween spending abound, according to the poll, which reveals Quebecers as the biggest lovers of all things scary.

Residents in that province are more likely to blow their budget on spooky decorations than people in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario and B.C. Quebecers are also expected to hand over more for costumes than their B.C. counterparts.