| Trick or Treat: Retail Council of Canada's Halloween 2006 Consumer Trends 72% of Canadians Plan to Celebrate the Spookiest Day of the Year |
Toronto, October 12, 2006 – According to a new study conducted by Pollara on behalf of Retail Council of Canada, 72% of Canadians plan to participate in at least one Halloween-related activity this year, such as wearing a costume, going to a party, getting together with friends, handing out candy, taking children trick-or-treating, and/or decorating their home. On average, Canadians plan to spend $60 on items such as candy, pumpkins, costumes and decorations, compared to $57 in 2005. The Halloween season accounts for approximately $1.15 billion in sales.
"Canadians of all ages have a real affection for Halloween and are ready to have fun by getting together with friends, taking their kids out trick-or-treating, decorating their homes or handing out treats," says Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "Consumer confidence, strong employment numbers and low interest rates continue to fuel growth in retail across Canada and this trend is expected to be maintained throughout the remainder of the year."
"Halloween tends to bring out the kid in all of us, no matter what age or stage," says Roland Merbis, Associate Vice-President, Public Affairs, POLLARA. "It's no surprise that the traditional Halloween items, such as candy and other treats, along with pumpkins, costumes and decorations continue to be the most popular items."
Of those surveyed, 69% of Canadians plan to spend the same amount on Halloween items as they did in 2005 ($57), while 11% intend to spend more and 16% plan to spend less.
Highlights of the survey include:
Who is buying
- Among those who will be buying this Halloween, residents in British Columbia lead the average anticipated personal spending at $65, followed by Albertans at $64 and Ontarians at $63. Residents in the Prairies and Atlantic provinces intend to spend $55 respectively, while Quebecers intend to spend the least at $54.
- Households with at least one child under the age of 18 years expect to spend more on Halloween-related items ($75) than those households with no children ($50).
- On average, men intend to spend more on Halloween items than women: $66 compared to $55, respectively.
- Men between the ages of 18 and 34 will spend the most on Halloween items at $76, while women aged 55 years and older will spend the least at $36.
Popular Halloween Purchases
Candy and Other Halloween Treats
- 95% of Canadians plan to buy candy and/or other Halloween treats and expect to spend $29 on average.
- Residents of Alberta plan to spend the most at $32, while Ontarians plan to spend $31. Residents of the Atlantic provinces plan to spend $29, residents of the Prairies and British Columbia plan to spend $28 respectively, and Quebecers intend to spend $26.
- On average, men plan to spend $32 on candy and other Halloween treats, while women plan to spend $27.
Costumes
- 52% of Canadians plan to purchase costumes for Halloween and are looking to spend $33 on average.
Decorations
- 45% of Canadians intend to decorate this Halloween and indicate they are looking to spend $19 on average.
Pumpkins
- Pumpkins continue to be a Halloween mainstay with 58% of Canadians planning to buy pumpkins and spending $10 on average.
Halloween Cards
- Only 7% of Canadians plan to buy Halloween cards and intend to spend $11 on average.
For detailed research tables, click here.
To view the information on the POLLARA Web site, click here.
About the Study
These are the findings of a Retail Council of Canada/POLLARA poll conducted from September 29 to October 4, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2,078 adult Canadians was polled through an online omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to ±2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data. The actual results of Halloween sales may differ/vary from the intentions stated in these findings. For detailed research tables, visit www.retailcouncil.org or www.pollara.ca.
About Retail Council of Canada
Retail Council of Canada (www.retailcouncil.org) is the Voice of Retail. It is a not-for-profit association representing more than 40,000 stores of all retail formats, including independent merchants, regional and national mass and specialty chains, and online merchants.
About POLLARA
POLLARA (www.pollara.ca), the largest Canadian public opinion and marketing research firm, helps its clients improve their performance through strategic research designed and analyzed by consultants who are experts in their fields. Drawing on the talents of more than 650 employees located in 6 cities, POLLARA provides a full range of research services to leading global, national, and local companies and to public and non-profit sector organizations.
For more information, contact:
Retail Council of Canada
Stephanie Petroff at (416) 922-0553, ext. 228
E-mail: spetroff@retailcouncil.org
POLLARA
Roland Merbis at (416) 921-0090
E-mail: rmer@pollara.com