--- title: The $10B business of Halloween decorations - The Hustle description: A combination of factors has pushed the Halloween spirit to record levels, and big-box retailers are reaping the benefits. image: https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1877770059-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234332.909Z.webp --- # The $10B business of Halloween decorations ![Rob Litterst](https://thehustle.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Rob-Litterst-pic.png?width=48&height=48&name=Rob-Litterst-pic.png) [Rob Litterst](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst) [Rob Litterst Twitter profile ](https://twitter.com/robbylit) Published: October 26, 2022 Updated: October 11, 2023 If you’ve noticed more monsters, spiderwebs, or skeletons in your neighborhood this year — you’re not alone. ![The $10B business of Halloween decorations](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hs-fs/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1877770059-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234332.909Z.webp?width=595&height=400&name=1877770059-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234332.909Z.webp) A combination of factors has [pushed](https://www.retaildive.com/news/how-halloween-became-a-10b-business-for-retailers/634442/) the Halloween spirit to record levels, and big-box retailers are reaping the benefits, per *Retail Dive*. #### **Halloween decorations…** … became a thing in the early 1900s, when the holiday revolved around adults who hosted parties. In the 1930s, the focus shifted to kids, leading manufacturers to make more family-friendly decorations. Almost a century later, these decorations make up an increasingly large portion of retailers’ fall inventory: - **Home Depot’s** Halloween and fall inventory is up to 861 products from 418 last year. - **Walmart** is carrying 3.3k+ fall and Halloween products this year. - **Target’s** assortment includes 197 Halloween products. Mark Ledenbach, who wrote a book on Halloween collectibles, calls Halloween the “gateway to the holidays.” It gives retailers a reliable way to drive traffic to stores between spring and the holiday season. #### **And people plan to spend** One survey found 87% of consumers plan to spend on Halloween this year, with ~40% expecting to buy outdoor decorations. Big-box retailers are fueling neighborly competition and pushing consumers to blow their budgets on over-the-top options, including: - **Home Depot’s** $299 12-foot skeleton with LCD eyes. - **Lowe’s** $348 12-foot mummy with lights and sound effects. While a looming recession would seem to taper Halloween spending, retailers say demand is strong. **Plus,** a 12-foot monster in your driveway is a great distraction from the monster in your brokerage account. That is, unless someone [yanks it](https://www.tiktok.com/@staytunednbc/video/7156298006600486186) from your lawn, tosses it in their trunk, and drives off. Topics: [Holiday](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/tag/holiday) ## Follow us on social media prev next - ![Catch a fireworks show last night? Cherish it before the drones take over](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/549553385-httpsthdaily.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.comfinal_size-drones_20230705040829.webp) ### Catch a fireworks show last night? Cherish it before the drones take over - ![The Elf on the Shelf empire](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1372769294-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-22T025914.723Z.webp) ### The Elf on the Shelf empire - ![Advent calendars get more unhinged each year](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1423350540-HS-News-Brief_2022-12-21T010147.269Z.webp) ### Advent calendars get more unhinged each year - ![Why even QVC has a holiday rom-com](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/981633169-HS-News-Brief_2022-11-22T031145.529Z.webp) ### Why even QVC has a holiday rom-com - ![Where are the rest of the gifts?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/109664815-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-28T013358.617Z.webp) ### Where are the rest of the gifts? - ![Inflation is coming for your cookout](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1345316001-HS-News-Brief_2022-07-01T031608.762Z.webp) ### Inflation is coming for your cookout - ![Is daylight saving time over? Should it be?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1652513124-News-Brief_2022-03-18T000639.727Z.webp) ### Is daylight saving time over? Should it be? - ![How pandemic trick-or-treating inspired a map startup](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1244935731-News-Brief_2022-02-18T022606.564Z.webp) ### How pandemic trick-or-treating inspired a map startup - ![Digits: A $176m accident, ultra-thin trees, and umbrella vending machines](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1931630533-News-Brief_2022-01-03T003725.532Z.webp) ### Digits: A $176m accident, ultra-thin trees, and umbrella vending machines - ![Sure, out-of-office messages are fine. But what if they were carols?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/902729882-News-Brief_2021-12-24T092911.793Z.webp) ### Sure, out-of-office messages are fine. But what if they were carols? Pop up for Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Subscribe to The Hustle Daily Newsletter Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t. JOIN FREE ### 100% Free CRM Nurture and grow your business with customer relationship management software. Signup for a free account Close modal ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/rob-litterst" }, "datePublished" : "2022-10-26T06:45:51.000Z", "headline" : "The $10B business of Halloween decorations", "image" : [ "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/hubfs/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1877770059-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234332.909Z.webp" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/10262022-halloween-decorations", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject" } } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "#article", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Rob Litterst", "url" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/author/rob-litterst" }, "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T19:45:43+0000", "datePublished" : "2022-10-26T06:45:51+0000", "headline" : "The $10B business of Halloween decorations", "image" : [ "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/1877770059-HS-News-Brief_2022-10-25T234332.909Z.webp" ], "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "height" : 112, "url" : "https://fs.hubspotusercontent00.net/hubfs/53/assets/hubspot.com/web-team/WBZ/Blog%202021/Images/Logos/HubSpot%20Logo%20112X112.svg", "width" : 112 }, "name" : "HubSpot", "sameAs" : [ "https://www.facebook.com/hubspot", "https://twitter.com/hubspot" ], "url" : "https://www.hubspot.com" }, "speakable" : { "@type" : "SpeakableSpecification", "xPath" : [ "//title", "/html/head/meta[@name='description']/@content" ] } } ```