Poll: Most North Carolinians will celebrate Halloween this year

NORTH CAROLINA (WWAY) — A High Point University Poll finds that 65% of North Carolinians will celebrate Halloween this year, while 33% will not celebrate.

74% said they will spend the same amount of money as last year, while 14% will spend more and 11% will spend less. In 2018, 19% of HPU Poll respondents said they would spend more than the previous year.

For those who will celebrate, they said they plan to spend an average of $87 total, which includes money spent on costumes, decorations, candy and food and drink.

Finally, the poll asked participants if they think it’s too early for retailers to begin stocking their shelves for Christmas. A majority (56%) of North Carolinians agree that September and October is too early, while about a quarter of respondents (24%) do not think it’s too early for retailers to begin getting their shelves ready for Christmas.

“According to our recent poll, most North Carolinians that celebrate Halloween said that they would be spending about the same as last year on the holiday, which is about $87 on average,” says Brian McDonald, associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct instructor. “And a majority of our poll respondents agreed that it is too early for retailers to begin stocking shelves for Christmas.”