Halloween Poll Fact Sheet 2015 - FINAL

GOODWILL ®
NATIONAL
HALLOWEEN
POLL
FACT SHEET
What’s Hot and
What’s Not
this Halloween
®
October is the busiest retail month for Goodwill , and millions of shoppers make
Goodwill their go-to headquarters for Halloween each year. Shoppers can find
everything they need to build unique costumes on a budget.
Shopping at Goodwill helps the community. Goodwill store revenues fund job
training and employment services, such as career counseling, financial education,
computer classes, child care, transportation and more.
Goodwill commissioned a national poll of thousands of adults to determine the
biggest trends in Halloween this year.
The poll consisted of:
§ A landline and cell phone survey of 1,012 respondents, independently
conducted by ORC International Research from September 24 – 27, 2015.
(The margin of error was +/- 3.08 percent.)
§ A separate in-store costume poll of 2,896 respondents held in Goodwill stores
in Washington, California, Nevada, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Florida, from
September 23 – October 1.
Highlights
§ Funny costumes are the popular choice this year, followed by iconic/classic,
minimalist and group costumes.
§ Avoid risqué and overly-sexy or political or gory costumes make a good
impression.
§ There is a surge of group, family or couples costumes this year, with 19
percent of all adults and 31 percent of millennials (18 – 34) looking for team
attire.
§ Adults are also searching in greater numbers for creative, original or stylized
attire. More than half of respondents preferred DIY costumes. Merged
costumes such as Princess-Darth Vader and Zombie Princess are on the rise.
(Further data and information on next page)
FOR MORE
INFORMATION:
Lauren Lawson-Zilai
Director of Public Relations
(240) 333-5266
[email protected]
Charlene Sarmiento
Public Relations Program
Manager
(240) 333-5590
[email protected]
Joye Taylor
Public Relations Manager
(240) 333-5523
[email protected]
GOODWILL NATIONAL HALLOWEEN POLL
FACT SHEET
For creative costume ideas, browse Goodwill’s Pinterest page or try out the
costume generator at goodwill.org/halloween.
According to the phone poll, the most popular types of costume this year are:
§ Overall: Funny costumes are the most popular, at 14 percent. They edged out iconic costumes (classic costumes
like witches and ghosts) at 10 percent and minimalist costumes at 10 percent. Avery unique costume and pop culture
(TV/movie) costume follow at 8 percent each.
§ MIllennials: The top costume for millennials are group costumes at 18 percent, then funny costumes at 14 percent,
and costumes based on the latest pop culture trends or TV/Movie characters (10 percent).
§ Ages 45 – 54: Iconic costumes are still top with 45- to 54-year-olds at 16 percent, followed by minimalist costumes
at 10 percent and funny costumes at 9 percent.
§ The costume categories provided to respondents were: funny; iconic/classic; minimalist; matching or group
costume with family, friends or significant others; very unique; pop culture (costumes based off of TV, movies,
current events, etc.); historical; sexy but in good taste; gory; risqué or overly sexy; political; and other.
Goodwill’s National Halloween In-store Survey
The in-store survey of more than 3,000 customers reported zombie, pirate and vampire costumes are trending for
adults and children this year, regardless of age or gender. The top ten for each demographic is below.
RANK
Male Adults
Percent
Male Teens
Percent
Male Children
Percent
1
2
3
4
5
6
Zombie
Vampire
Pirate
Clown
Soldier
Superman
6.1%
4.3%
3.8%
3.1%
2.5%
2.0%
Zombie
Vampire
Harry Potter
Clown
Hippie
Pro Wrestler
11.9%
5.6%
5.0%
4.4%
3.8%
2.5%
Pirate
Spiderman
Batman
Minion (Despicable Me)
Zombie
Marvel Heroes
4.7%
4.7%
4.0%
4.0%
4.0%
3.4%
7
Police Officer
2.0%
Ninja Warrior
2.5%
Ninja Turtle
2.9%
8
9
10
Batman
Hippie
Donald Trump
2.0%
1.8%
1.5%
Witch
Batman
Ghost
2.5%
2.5%
1.9%
Vampire
Superman
Police Officer
2.7%
2.3%
2.1%
RANK
Female Adults
Percent
Female Teens
Percent
Female Children
Percent
1
2
Witch
Zombie
7.7%
4.1%
Witch
Zombie
5.5%
5.1%
Princess
Witch
17.2%
5.8%
3
4
5
Pirate
Flapper (1920s)
Nurse
3.5%
3.2%
2.8%
Hippie
80s-inspired
Pirate
5.1%
5.1%
3.8%
Elsa (Frozen)
Zombie
Cat (animal)
5.0%
2.3%
2.3%
6
7
Hippie
Police Officer
2.7%
2.4%
Vampire
Princess
3.0%
3.0%
Cinderella
Angel
2.3%
2.2%
8
Princess
2.4%
9
10
Vampire
Bride
2.1%
1.7%
Marilyn Monroe
(celebrity)
Angel
Clown
3.0%
Anna (Frozen)
2.2%
2.5%
2.1%
Monster High character
Cheerleader
2.1%
2.0%
The costumes to AVOID this year (what not to wear):
§ Sixty percent (60 percent) of respondents said they would avoid risqué or overly sexy costumes, followed by
political costumes at 35 percent.
There is a surge of group, family or couples costumes this year:
§ Of all those planning to wear costumes, 19 percent of adults will look for group/couple/family costumes.
§ Thirty-one percent of millennials plan to participate in a group/couple/family costume this year.
Do-it-yourself versus packaged costumes:
§ The poll respondents preferred do-it-yourself (DIY) costumes at 51 percent, over packaged costumes at 22 percent.
§ Younger adults, ages 18 – 34, prefer do-it-yourself costumes at 49 percent, over packaged costumes at 27 percent.
§ DIY can include new or used costume content. The trend is not accepting the traditional “look” for a costume but
creating your own original look or spinoff. People can create DIY costumes by using clothes they already have or
purchasing clothes and accessories at Goodwill. They can wear the clothes again or donate them back to Goodwill
after the holiday.
§ For example, if someone wants to be a witch, he or she can buy a black dress or use a black dress they already own
and buy a witch’s hat, costume makeup and a broom to complete the look.
§ For creative costume ideas, browse Goodwill’s Pinterest page or try out the costume generator at
goodwill.org/halloween. Some Goodwill stores carry pre-packaged costumes and new accessories for people who
want some extra help.
Other observations:
§ Merged costumes are popular with thrift store customers — think of a zombie-princess or a pirate-cat. This reflects a
trend toward creative and original costume designs.
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF)
More costumes than ever will be flying off the shelves as Americans gear up to celebrate the spookiest holiday of the
year, according to NRF’s Halloween Consumer Spending Survey.
§
More than 157 million Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year, 68 million Americans will dress up
this Halloween and 20 million pet owners will dress up their pets.
§
The average person will spend $74.34 this Halloween, compared to $77.52 last year. Total spending on
Halloween this year will reach $6.9 billion.
§
For more information about the NRF’s Halloween findings, visit https://nrf.com/resources/halloween-headquarters.
About the National Halloween Poll
ORC International conducted a landline and cell phone survey of 1,012 respondents from September 24 – September 27,
2015. The margin of error was +/- 3.08 percent. Goodwill conducted a separate in-store costume poll of more than 3,000
respondents at Goodwill stores in Washington, California, Nevada, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Florida from September
23 - October 1, 2015.
About Goodwill Industries International
Goodwill Industries International is a network of 165 community-based agencies in the United States and Canada with a
presence in 14 other countries. Goodwill is one of America’s top 20 most inspiring companies (Forbes, 2014). Goodwill
agencies are innovative and sustainable social enterprises that fund job training programs, employment placement
services and other community-based programs by selling donated clothing and household items in more than 3,000
®
stores and online at shopgoodwill.com . Local Goodwill agencies also build revenue and create jobs by contracting with
businesses and government to provide a wide range of commercial services, including packaging and assembly, food
services preparation, and document imaging and shredding. In 2014, more than 426,000 people in the United States and
Canada used Goodwill’s intensive one-on-one career services to prepare for employment. In addition, more than 24
million people used computers and mobile devices to access Goodwill education, training, mentoring and online learning
services to strengthen their skills.
To learn more, visit goodwill.org. To find a Goodwill location near you, use the online locator at Goodwill.org, use the
Goodwill Locator app at goodwill.org/apps, or call (800) GOODWILL. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and
@GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook: GoodwillIntl.