The undead roamed the streets across the United States Monday, as the National Retail Federation reported zombie costumes were some of the most popular Halloween choices this year among both adults and young people. Americans were expected to spend $2.5 billion on costumes this year, according to an NRF survey, forking over $1 billion on children's costumes, $1.2 billion on adult costumes and $310 million on pet costumes. The average person was expected to spend $72.31 on Halloween candy, costumes and décor, bringing total spending to $6.86 billion - the most in the survey's nine-year history. As in previous years, traditional costumes still ranked as consumer favorites. Witches (13.4 percent) were the top choice for adults, while pirates (3.9 percent) and vampires (3.7 percent) won out thanks to popular television, movie and pop-culture characters. Pint-sized princesses (11 percent) continued their seven-year reign as the top children's costume, while other top choices for kids included Spiderman (3.1 percent), Batman (2.4 percent) and Superman (1.3 percent). Additionally, fairies (2.6 percent), Disney princesses (2.2 percent) and vampires (2.4 percent) made the top 10 for children. Man's best friend also got into the Halloween spirit this year. Like last year, the most popular pet costume was a pumpkin (10.7 percent), with devils (8.1 percent) and hot dogs (6 percent) following closely behind.[[In-content Ad]]
