It’s time for our favorite post of the year – the data analytics of Halloween. On tap for today’s festivities, we’re bringing you the all the spooky things you need to know before you head out to your zombie soirees and treat-finding festivities.
First up, here’s an executive summary of our spending on Halloween 2013:
- 158 million people will celebrate this year
- Budgets are a bit tighter this year – the average amount Americans will spend on decorations, costumes and candy for Halloween is down to $75.03 from $79.82 a year ago
- Spending is estimated to reach $6.9 billion this year
- Adults spend more than kids on their costumes – $1.22 billion to $1.04 billion
- 13.8% of pets get Halloween outfits (usually a pumpkin, hot dog or devil/cat)
The Hottest Costumes of the Year
OK, so something cool for all you data geeks to start us off – the Spirit Halloween store is celebrating 30 years in business and issued this infographic of the biggest selling Halloween costume for each of those years.
On the top of just about every list we checked is the weird teddy bear thing and foam finger that Miley Cyrus wore at the infamous 2013 MTV Video Music Awards.
Dressing up as pop culture icons such as the “Sharknado,” the POTUS and Kimye (Yes, that’s Kanye West and Kim Kardashian put together), has been a popular move. See the top pop culture Halloween costumes here.
The Huffington Post gave a great review of clever costumes, our favorite was the “debt ceiling.” Check out this gallery for more ingenuity in disguise.
Traditional costumes are all the rage among the less adventurous folks. The National Retail Federation (NRF) says that we’re looking at a number of “pumpkins, princesses, zombies and witches” this year. You can see their top lists for pets, grown ups and kids here.
If the Zombies Come Out En Masse . . . Analytics Will Save the Day
In an interesting article from Intelligent Utility, we see that zombies who attack the power grid can be curbed with analytics. Apparently, it’s the “enemy of the zombie” for a couple of reasons (at least when it comes to energy), writes Kathleen Wolf Davis.
Mike Smith of the Utility Analytics Institute says the organization can “model for many contingencies including zombie hordes” and “model behavior (even zombie) and migration patterns in near real-time.”
The Most Popular Candy (The Most Important Analytic)
While the costumes are important, we all know it’s about the candy. The chocolate, the nougat and the sticky stuff. Chocolate tops the list as the most popular candy.
The NRF says that Americans will spend around $23 a family to “give out the good stuff.” The top five? Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M&Ms, Snickers, Hershey’s and KitKat.
The least liked candy is no surprise – candy corn is the leading least favorite. Among the bottom dwellers (pun totally intended) are chewy and hard candies, lollipops, mints and gum. No one wants to chew. It’s all about the melt-in-your-mouth.
And now you have it – the data analytics of Halloween 2013. Have fun tonight and don’t forget to brush your teeth!
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Amanda Brandon
Spotfire Blogging Team
