The High Street could see the biggest boost from Halloween spending, with more consumers influenced to make spooky season purchases in-store than across social media channels, says new research by product intelligence business, Vypr. 

Its poll revealed that almost half of shoppers’ Halloween spend will be influenced by what’s in stores, compared to under a third (31%) that will be swayed to make purchases on social media.

And, despite the enormous volumes of viral ‘spooky season’ content across social platforms like TikTok, almost three quarters (73%) have never actually bought Halloween items from TikTok Shop, preferring instead to shop in-store.

“Halloween appears to get bigger and bigger each year,” said Ben Davies, Founder of Vypr. “Bricks and mortar retailers should take confidence that they are getting their ranges right as consumers look to them for what is trending this season.”

Will financial pressure out-spook Halloween shoppers?

When it comes to Halloween spending intentions, Vypr’s poll suggests that 31% plan to spend less this year, but just one in 10 will spend considerably less compared to 2024. For the majority (61 percent), their spending levels are expected to mirror that of last year, according to its research.

However, separate data from GlobalData painted a different – and more cautious – consumer spending picture. It suggests that, while nearly half of UK shoppers plan to participate in Halloween, 60% say financial pressures may curtail their spending, with 25–34-year-olds among the most cautious.

Despite this, GlobalData is still forecasting that UK Halloween spend will rise by +3.2% year-on-year to £537million – although this represents a weaker performance than 2024, when spooky season sales rose +4.1% compared to the year prior. 

“To appeal to core Halloween shoppers, retailers must promote low-cost Halloween items to encourage small impulse purchases and boost volumes,” Eleanor Simpson-Gould, Senior Retail Analyst at GlobalData, commented.