Paw-lloween Trends for Pet-lovers

Pawrents got 99 problems, but their furbabies’ costumes ain’t one. We’ve Pulsed over 1,000 pawrents to uncover how they’ll spend Halloween with their canine companions this year. Let’s dig in!

By Lois Fearne

The spookiest time of the year is here, our Pulsers are ready to eat, drink and be scary. With majority (69%) of Americans and nearly half (49%) of Brits are planning to celebrate, it’s no surprise that Halloween is a serious moneymaker for businesses. US consumers are projected to spend a record $10.6 billion this year, with Brits forking out £687 million. 

Boys and ghouls aren’t the only ones getting in on the fun—searches for dog costumes have been creeping up, and more brands than ever are cashing in on the movement. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend $490 million on costumes for their pets this Halloween. As they say, pets are the new children, and plants are the new pets.

And if there are two things we love at OnePulse, it’s our pets and fast, reliable insights. We used the platform to measure consumer trends and purchasing behaviours, particularly among pet parents.

It’s safe to say that Howl-o-ween has gone to the dogs!

Digging into the Data

We asked over 1,000 consumers how they plan to celebrate Halloween with their furry friends this year. Here’s a snippet of the top five activities they’ll be participating in: 

1. Dressing up their dog in a costume 
2. Letting their dog answer the door to the trick-or-treaters
3. Treating their dog to a Halloween-themed treat or toy 
4. Visiting a dog-friendly pumpkin patch 
5. Wearing a matching costume to their dog

Fun fact: 31% of Brits would prefer to see a dog knock at their door trick-or-treating to a child this Halloween. 

Doggone Good Costumes

For pet parents who want to teach their old dog a new trick-or-treat, there are costumes for everything: from Marvel super dogs to the United States Postal Service mail carriers.

38% of Americans plan on dressing up their furry friends this Halloween, with a quarter admitting they’ll spend more ($49.08 average spend on a dog costume) on their dog’s costume than their own. 16% are even going as far as coordinating their costume to match their dog. Talk about #SquadGhouls! 

Likewise, Brits are in on the action, with 35% saying they’ll dress up their dogs, with the majority parting ways with an average of £26.30 to kit out their furry friend. 

Be it a mail carrier or a Batman and Robin in a human x doggo form, you’re bound to see pups dressed to the nines this Halloween weekend. Check out this tail-wagging costume inspiration from the US: 👇

The best places to buy pet costumes, according to our community:

Jokes Aside, Halloween Can Be Terrier-fying

Check out these tips on keeping your dog safe this Halloween, and more importantly, keep that chocolate out of reach from wandering paws. If in doubt, speak to your veterinarian for advice on your dog’s needs. 

Eerie-sistible Insights

Halloween is a frightfully fun time of the year! We wanted to use the OnePulse consumer insights platform to dig up insights on this spooky holiday. In just a few short pulses, we were able to understand seasonal trends, consumer trends, and purchase intent. 

Whether you’re looking at perceptions of your brand or the category as a whole, our platform is easy to use by anyone on your team: from interns to top dog experts (sorry, we had to!).