October marks the season of rekindling our appreciation for horror movies, everything pumpkin-flavored and Halloween parties. Possibly the spookiest and most adorable thing of all is the amount of money Americans will spend on dressing up their pets this year.
Halloween is almost here, and even though you probably don’t know what you will be dressing as, many pet owners already have their pups’ and cats’ costumes ready to go. If it seems like you’ve seen more pet costumes littering the shelves of Target and on your Instagram feed lately, you’re not alone. Pet parents, who are generally millennials, spend a significant amount of money on Halloween outfits for animals.
The trend for dressing up pets in costumes has increased significantly throughout the past eight years. 30 million owners spend around $480 million on costumes for their fur babies, which is double the amount spent in 2010, according to the National Retail Federation. Of the total 3.2 billion spent on all costume sales, pet costumes represent 15% of those, usually purchased by owners in their late 20s to early 30s.
On sites like Amazon and Party City, hundreds of different types of costumes are offered, ranging from $5 to $30, so you can dress your pet for cheap.
The National Retail Federation attributes this increase in popularity to social media sharing. After all, I think everyone can agree that seeing a cute animal on your feed just never gets old. So this Halloween season if you’re looking for a costume for your dog or cat, or just want to make your day a little better, check out these guys on Instagram.