Shopping in America: Chocolate Rates as Top Halloween Treat; Survey Reveals Top Consumer Trends for the Season of Spook
October 11 2005 - 12:03PM
Business Wire
Almost two-fifths of Americans say you are never too old to
trick-or-treat. That's good news for consumers who plan to spend an
average of 3.6 percent more than last year on Halloween-related
purchases, including chocolate, the No. 1 rated treat. These and
other trends are revealed in the latest Shopping in America
Halloween 2005 survey, conducted for The Macerich Company
(NYSE:MAC) by August Partners. Trick-or-Treating The results of the
national survey, which polled more than 4,300 shoppers, show that
58 percent plan to take part in Halloween activities. Forty-four
(44) percent of revelers plan to trick-or-treat -- up slightly from
last year (41 percent). -- Most (70 percent) will trick-or-treat in
their own neighborhood, with malls (8 percent) coming in as the
second most popular destination -- Sixty-two (62) percent will
decorate their home -- The majority (60 percent) will wear a
costume -- Forty-four (44) percent will wear a costume to school or
work Thirty-eight (38) percent of shoppers say you are never too
old to trick-or-treat. Other shoppers are divided on the
appropriate age limit to participate in the annual goodie-gathering
event: 6 percent say age 10 or older (+); 16 percent say 12+; 19
percent say 15+; 14 percent say 18+; and 8 percent say 20+.
"Halloween is popular among consumers of all ages, with the average
shopper planning to spend $51.00, nearly 4 percent more than last
year," said Garry Butcher, vice president of marketing and consumer
research for The Macerich Company. "Even senior citizens plan to
join in the festivities, with those 75+ representing the second
largest age group of trick-or-treaters, just behind the
12-to-17-year-olds (the youngest group surveyed)." -0- *T
Trick-or-Treating by Age ------------------------ 12-17 18-24 25-34
35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+ 67.7% 39.7% 37.9% 36.0% 24.2% 24.7%
23.4% 42.1% *T The Southern region of the country will see the
greatest number of trick-or-treaters (49 percent). Westerners are
least likely to trick-or-treat (33 percent). -0- *T
Trick-or-Treating by U.S. Region --------------------------------
Total West Midwest South Northeast 43.5% 33.1% 45.6% 49.0% 44.6% *T
Favorite Treats So what do treaters most hope to see in their bags
this Halloween? Shoppers rated chocolate, money and chewy candy as
their top three favorite treats. Stickers and fruit came in last.
-0- *T Favorite Treats --------------- Chocolate 48.8% Gum 4.1%
Money 14.8% Candy Apple 3.9% Chewy Candy 9.5% Fruit 3.6% Hard Candy
7.6% Stickers 0.7% Popcorn 4.3% Other 2.9% *T Scary Movie
Characters & Costume Picks Shoppers surveyed named Freddy
Krueger (18 percent) as their favorite scary movie character. Jason
(15 percent), Michael Myers (10 percent), the Scream mask (10
percent) and Chucky (8 percent) also ranked in the top five picks.
"Scary themes are trending well this year, as shoppers rated scary
or evil looks as the top Halloween costume category," added
Butcher. TV/movie characters and fantasy costumes will also be
popular according to the survey. (Additional Shopping in America
survey costume results were released in late September.) Shopping
in America is a national shopper intercept survey that studies
consumer-shopping trends. The Halloween 2005 survey was conducted
among 4,345 shoppers in 13 regional shopping centers geographically
spread throughout the United States. Respondents ranged in age from
12 to 75+ years. Not all results are stated in this news release
and some are rounded to the nearest whole number. Data totals are
subject to a +/- 1.5 percent margin of error. To view the complete
Shopping in America results, including top costumes and other
trends, visit www.shoppinginamerica.biz. The Macerich Company is a
fully integrated self-managed and self- administered real estate
investment trust, which focuses on the acquisition, leasing,
management, development and redevelopment of regional malls
throughout the United States. The Company is the sole general
partner and owns an 81% ownership interest in The Macerich
Partnership, L.P. Macerich owns approximately 79 million square
feet of gross leaseable area consisting primarily of interests in
76 regional malls. Additional information about The Macerich
Company can be obtained from the Company's web site at
www.macerich.com.
Macerich (NYSE:MAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2024 to Jun 2024
Macerich (NYSE:MAC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2023 to Jun 2024