Top Halloween Costumes for 2016

You may see more children dressed up as Superman or Batgirl instead of Princess Elsa this Halloween. According to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2016 Halloween Consumer Top Costumes Survey, princess costumes have fallen to number two this year to superheroes after reigning at the top for eleven years.

NRF also noted that spending on Halloween costumes is expected to reach $3.1 billion. The survey found that three million children will dress up as their favorite superhero, 2.9 million will dress up as their favorite princess, and 2.5 million plan to dress up as their favorite animal.

The survey also found that more than nine percent of millennials are planning on wearing a Batman costume, 6.1 percent plan to wear witch hats and brooms, while five percent plan to dress as an animal. Kids and young adults aren’t the only joining in on the festivities, more than 76 percent of adults have already decided what they want to dress up as this Halloween, while 16 percent of consumers with pets plan to dress up their pets.

Below is a breakdown of the NRF’s survey.

Children’s Costumes

1. Action/Superhero
2. Princess
3. Animal (Cat, Dog, Lion, Monkey, etc.)
4. Batman Character
5. Star Wars Character
6. Tie: Witch AND DC Superhero (excl. Batman)
7. Frozen Character (Anna, Elsa, Olaf)
8. Marvel Superhero (excl. Spiderman)
9. Zombie
10. Spiderman

Adults 18-34-Years-Old

1. Batman Character (Batman, Harley Quinn, The Joker, etc.)
2. Witch
3. Animal (Cat, Dog, Bunny, etc.)
4. Tie: Marvel Superhero (Deadpool, Spiderman, etc.) AND DC Superhero (Wonder Woman, Superman, excl. Batman)
5. Vampire
6. Video Game Character
7. Slasher Movie Villain (Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, etc.)
8. Pirate
9. Star Wars Character
10. Zombie

Adults 35+

1. Witch
2. Pirate
3. Political (Trump, Clinton, etc.)
4. Vampire
5. Batman Character (Batman, Catwoman, etc.)
6. Animal (Cat, Dog, Bunny, etc.)
7. Tie: DC Superhero (Superman, Wonder Woman, excl. Batman) and Star Wars Character
8. Tie: Ghost and Zombie
9. Scary Costume/Mask
10. Marvel Superhero (Iron Man, Hulk, Spiderman, etc.)

Pets

1. Pumpkin
2. Hot Dog
3. Bumble Bee
4. Tie: Lion and Star Wars Character
5. Devil
6. Batman Character
7. Witch
8. Superman
9. Action/Superhero
10. Cat

According to the NRF’s website the survey was conducted by Prosper and Insight and asked  6,791 consumers about Halloween costume plans. It was conducted September 6-13 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.

About Maureen Chowdhury

Maureen Chowdhury is a multimedia journalist with Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at mchowdhury@mymcmedia.org and on Twitter at @MediaMaureen. Maureen authors the blog Sound Check on MyMCMedia.

View all posts by Maureen Chowdhury