Yahoo Finance 
Is Halloween worth it?
There was a time when we turned our noses up at Halloween, all of that dressing up, trick or treating, pumpkin patching and candy eating was far too American for us. But that is not the case anymore.
Halloween is big business, and if you dressed up, bought sweets for trick or treaters or booze for a Halloween party then the Chancellor should be saying thank you – as you have contributed to a growing part of the UK economy: Retail holidays.
Halloween is a lucrative holiday (if you pardon the Americanism) for the UK. According to retail expert Verdict, supermarkets and grocers will be the biggest beneficiaries, with two-thirds of consumers saying they planned to splash out on fiendish delights to celebrate. 35% of consumers spending on average £7 each on chocolate and sweets for themselves and to give as gifts this year alone. While 20% planned to buy a pumpkin, at the cost of approximately £5 each.
There’s nothing ghoulish about the increase in spending over the Halloween period in recent years, back in 2002 it was a mere £12 million, at last count in 2010 it was up 23 fold to nearly £300 million. That is no small chunk of change and is the equivalent of more than 1% of our GDP.
The answer to the initial question – is Halloween really worth it? I would argue at this rate of spending, most definitely yes.
Holidays from austerity
Even bigger than Halloween is Valentine’s Day, where nearly £1 billion is spent, mostly by men, who spend approximately £40 on gifts for their loved ones. In contrast, women look thrifty spending only £22.
According to a survey by Onepoll on behalf of Travelodge conducted before Valentine’s Day this year, Sheffield spends the most per head, at more than £60. Another survey by American Express Platinum Charge Card found that Valentine’s Day spending is also surprisingly recession proof.
But dwarfing Halloween and Valentine’s Day, is Christmas, which is worth a whopping £70 billion to the UK economy annually, which accounts for approximately 20% of all retail spending in the UK.
So what are we spending it on?
The HSBC spending survey for 2012 found that the average projected spend per person was £526. The bulk of this is spent on gifts for family, which consumed £347 of the entire spend, while food and drink was £179.
So how do we finance all of this? HSBC found that 65% of the people they surveyed use their salary or other income, but given that wage growth is incredibly weak, nearly 40% use some or all of their savings and 17% will try to borrow to fund their Christmas spending splurge.
Consumers often go to extremes to fund their Christmas’s, but if they don’t then it can be the death knell for a retailer. There was no Christmas cheer in 2008 when poor seasonal sales caused some major high street names to go under including Woolworths; entertainment chain Zavvi, clothing chains Adams and Officers Club and tea retailer Whittard of Chelsea all went into administration partly due to poor seasonal sales.
Overall, our economic performance would be a lot more mundane without holidays and the spending they generate. People complain about the commercialisation of Christmas, and lament how Halloween is leading to the Americanisation of our society, but there is an upside.
All of this festive spending leads to an increase in jobs, and is vital on keeping our economy on the straight and narrow.
Kathleen Brooks is author of Kathleen Brooks on Forex, published by Harriman House.
