RetailMeNot Shoppers Trend Report: Consumers Report Spending An Average of $284 on Holiday Decorations from October through December

- Kids have all the fun! Additional data reveals that 67% of parents with children ages 18 and under do not intend to dress up in costumes for Halloween

- Adults say kids should stop trick-or-treating when they are 14 years old

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RetailMeNot.com

Oct 18, 2012, 07:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- RetailMeNot.com (www.retailmenot.com), the largest online coupon site in the United States, today announced in another OctoNovemCember edition of the Shoppers Trend Report, that out of the vast majority of Americans who decorate for the holidays, 86% will spend more money on decorations for the December holidays than on Halloween or Thanksgiving.

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According to a survey conducted by RetailMeNot and The Omnibus Company (http://www.omnibus.com), a division of Kelton Research, consumers are more active in purchasing decorations for their homes and offices.

Average reported spend per U.S. adult consumer on decorations for the holiday period, include:

December Holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa): $143.10
- 79% of consumers plan to spend money on December holiday (Christmas, Hanukkah & Kwanzaa) decorations this year, with 53% of these consumers spending $100 or more.
Halloween: $73
- 58% of consumers plan to spend money on Halloween decorations this year, with 78% of these folks spending less than $100.
Thanksgiving: $68.20
- 54% of consumers plan to spend money on Thanksgiving decorations this year, with 64% of this group spending less than $100.

"Consumers who decorate their homes for the OctoNovemCember holidays over these next few months are spending, on average, nearly $284 on decorations for everything from jack-o-lanterns to cornucopia centerpieces to Christmas trees," said Trae Bodge, senior editor, RetailMeNot.com. "While a fun holiday for all, Halloween trick-or-treating is clearly seen by parents as an event for children and pre-teens."

The survey found that, on average, adults feel that 14 years old is the age when children should stop going door-to-door seeking candy from neighbors.

With finances still tight, many Americans who plan to dress up for Halloween will make costumes themselves.

Among the 33 percent of adults planning to wear a costume this Halloween, 51% will be buying the entire costume and 49% will be making at least part of their outfits.
Of the adults making their own costumes, 30% are doing so because they either can't afford to spend money on a costume (18%) or they don't want to spend money on a costume (12%).
87% of parents whose families will be dressing up for Halloween say that their children's costumes will cost more money than their significant other's or their own.

Methodology

The survey was conducted between October 8 and October 11, 2012, among 1,005 parents of children ages 1–18 and 1,007 nationally representative Americans ages 18 and over, using an email invitation and an online survey. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For each group in this survey, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample. The margin of error for any subgroups will be slightly higher.

To save on Halloween-related purchases visit http://www.retailmenot.com/deals/halloween. To get Black Friday–worthy deals every day this holiday shopping season, visit http://www.retailmenot.com/holiday.

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WhaleShark Media, Inc. (www.whalesharkmedia.com) is the world's leading marketplace for online coupons and deals. The company's websites enable consumers seeking to save money to find hundreds of thousands of offers from retailers across the globe. WhaleShark Media experiences more than 400 million consumer visits to its sites every year. The WhaleShark Media portfolio of coupon and deal websites includes www.RetailMeNot.com, the largest online coupon site in the United States; www.VoucherCodes.co.uk, the largest online coupon site in the United Kingdom; www.Deals.com in Germany; web.Bons-de-Reduction.com and www.Poulpeo.com in France; www.Deals2Buy.com; www.CouponSeven.com; and www.CouponShare.com. WhaleShark Media is a fast-growing, profitable company funded by venture capital firms Austin Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Adams Street Partners, Google Ventures, J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).