Here’s how much U.S. consumers expect to spend for Halloween this year

The U.S. economy is playing tricks on Americans, but consumers still plan to treat themselves for the holidays this year.

Nearly 80% of respondents to new survey from consulting firm PwC said they plan to open their wallets to join in the Halloween fun. Celebrants are expected to spend $289 on average, while parents with young kids are forecast to spend $445.

“Even though there’s a lot of economic uncertainty, people are still planning to spend in a pretty robust way during Halloween,” Kelly Pedersen, global retail leader at PwC, told CBS News. “People are not necessarily cutting back on Halloween, and that’s probably because it’s not a big spend,” he said. 

Here’s where consumers are putting their money for Halloween this year, according to PwC

• Costumes — $58
• Decorations — $57
• Food, drink, supplies for parties — $51
• Event tickets — $51
• Giveaways for trick-or-treaters — $50
• Other — $23

In keeping with recent trends, many Americans started preparing for Halloween early — 34% of consuers had already spent half of their Halloween budget by September, PwC found. 

“We know Gen Z is prioritizing spending on experiences over tangible things, and we are finding the same thing. They are going to Halloween parties and pumpkin patches to capture that social media photo, and we found that’s what a majority of Gen Z is putting their money into,” Pedersen said. 

The findings are based on a PwC survey of 2,016 adults from Sept. 18-22.

Other forecasts show broader spending is expected to hold up this holiday season, a critical period for retailers. Consumers plan to spend an average of roughly $890 each on holiday gifts, food, decorations and other seasonal items, according to the National Retail Federation. 

Although that’s a dip from the nearly $902 people spent last year, it still represents the second-highest figure since the trade group started tracking holiday spending more than two decades ago.