HalloweenCostumes.com has released the results of its 2026 Halloween survey, and the top-line finding will not surprise anyone who works in this industry. The retailer calls Halloween “no longer a one-day holiday,” and its numbers back that up across search, shopping, and spending.
For haunt fans and operators, the more useful story sits underneath that top line. A lot of what the survey measures about the consumer, from how people find events to how early they start and what they buy for the yard, points straight back at what haunted attractions need to do to keep up. Here is the data, and what each piece means once you cross from the retail aisle to the haunt.
People start on a search bar, and increasingly with AI
Online searches on Google and Bing are now the number one place people begin planning Halloween, at 43 percent. That is a steep climb, up from 20 percent in 2024 and 33 percent in 2025. Friends and family come next at 18 percent, then TikTok at 15 percent and Instagram at 8 percent.
The takeaway for haunts is that discovery and decision both run through search, and a good share of the people searching are ready to act, not just browse. That is why having your dates, hours, ticket links, and directions correct and current early matters so much, and why a strong listing on a directory like The Scare Factor earns its keep, because people really do search for what is near them.
The survey also finds 37 percent have used generative AI to help plan Halloween, 27 percent for decor ideas, 18 percent for costumes, and 12 percent for everything. For an attraction, that is a nudge worth acting on. Make sure your website can be read by AI agents, not buried behind scripts and pop-ups, so that when someone asks an assistant for haunts near them this weekend, the answer about your event is the right one.
The season starts earlier every year
Asked when Halloween season begins for them, 64 percent said early October, 20 percent September, 9 percent July, and 7 percent August. So 16 percent are already in it by late summer. This is the season creep we have tracked all year, and the survey puts numbers on it.
One caution for operators reading this as a green light to open in September: this is still an early-adoption curve. The majority do not flip into full Halloween mode until October, and how many of the July crowd are haunted-house customers rather than decor shoppers is an open question. The demand is real and moving earlier, but it is not evenly spread.
Bigger yards, more animatronics
Jack-o’-lanterns still top the decoration list at 32 percent, but the number that should catch a haunter’s eye is animatronics at 19 percent, ahead of ghosts and hanging props at 13 percent, skulls and skeletons at 12 percent, and inflatables at 12 percent. Animatronics moving that high up a general-consumer list is a sign of something bigger. The home haunt is expanding, even if the people buying a talking figure for the porch would never call themselves home haunters.
Spending backs it up. Compared with last year, 19 percent plan to spend more on decorations and 55 percent about the same, and on candy 45 percent plan to spend more, with 75 percent spending the same or more. Costumes are the one category where more people are pulling back, with 55 percent planning to spend less.
There is a real challenge for professional haunts buried in this. As consumers put more into their yards, and as some professional-grade animatronics now cost less than the retail versions on a big-box shelf, the bar for a paid experience keeps rising. When a guest can build an impressive scene at home for a few hundred dollars, the walk-through has to deliver something they cannot buy. The candy figure lands the same way our food coverage has all season. What guests eat and drink is now part of the experience, not an afterthought, and the retail animatronics race is one we track in our 2026 animatronics roundup.
Costumes still lead, but the priorities are shifting
When people rank what matters in a costume, comfort and fit now top the list at 30 percent, up from 20 percent in 2024, ahead of quality at 26 percent and affordability at 20 percent. Standing out ranks fourth, at 11 percent.
And costumes are not going anywhere. Asked which category they spend the most on, respondents put costumes and decorations in a dead heat at the top, ahead of candy, accessories, and makeup. For a haunt, that is a reminder of why so many events build a night around costumes, whether that is a night guests are invited to come dressed or a scare-actor lineup that has to out-costume what a fan could buy off the rack.
Where does the inspiration come from? Recent movie and TV releases lead at 39 percent, just ahead of friends and family at 37 percent, with gaming at 18 percent. That pipeline from screen to costume is the same one feeding this year’s licensed-IP wave in Halloween decor, and it is why HalloweenCostumes.com put a Poppy Playtime Huggy Wuggy on the art promoting the survey. Our conversation with Morris Costumes tracked the same screen-driven trend from the supply side.
Costumes that live all year
Nearly half of respondents, 48 percent, wear costumes outside of Halloween, 30 percent for cosplay or roleplay, 19 percent for events and festivals, and 14 percent for parties. The mask and costume makers who serve haunts have watched this shift for years, going back to the silicon mask studios that noticed customers buying for cosplay long before it was news. For a haunt, a year-round costume audience is a year-round merchandise and event audience, and the haunters conventions at the center of that community keep growing.
The survey closes on a hopeful note about who gets to play. 63 percent now feel there are enough costume options for all body types, including plus-size, adaptive, and maternity, up from 33 percent in 2022 and 49 percent in 2023. That is real progress, with 20 percent still wanting more of everything.
The through-line
Read together, the 2026 numbers tell one story. The consumer end of Halloween is getting earlier, bigger, and more sophisticated, and it is doing it with a search bar and, increasingly, an AI assistant in hand. For haunted attractions, that is both the opportunity and the pressure. The audience is more engaged than ever and easier to reach when your information is current and machine-readable. It is also harder to impress, because the yard down the street is putting on a better show every year.
Frequently asked questions
Who ran the 2026 Halloween survey?
HalloweenCostumes.com published the results as part of its annual Halloween trends report.
What was the single biggest finding?
Online search is now the dominant starting point for Halloween planning, at 43 percent, up from 20 percent two years earlier, and generative AI has emerged as a planning tool for 37 percent of people.
What does it mean for haunted attractions?
The consumer bar is rising. Guests find events through search and AI, expect an experience they cannot recreate at home, and increasingly treat Halloween as a season that starts well before October.
Survey data from HalloweenCostumes.com’s 2026 Halloween survey. Published September 7, 2026.
