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Haunted Habits: What Halloween Reveals About The Way We Shop, Create, and Celebrate
“My grandparents had a house that was built in the mid-1800s. It was a super, super old house,” said a Listen Labs study participant. “ In that house, the lights would turn on and off by themselves… The doors would open and close by themselves. There were definitely eerie things that happened while I was living at my grandparents' house.
Halloween brings back memories like the one shared in this recent Listen study, where forty participants dove into how they discover costume ideas, where they shop, and what matters when it comes to everything from costumes to candy. Beyond these playful, creative, social, and spooky Halloween-related insights, the study also reveals something more profound; the way people choose to celebrate says a lot about how they make decisions, find inspiration, and connect with others.
Halloween isn’t just about spooky stories and costumes: it’s a snapshot of modern consumer life. Here’s what your marketing team should know ahead of the holiday.
Costumes: Inspiration, shopping behaviors, and decision drivers
Despite the heavy hand social media algorithms play in our lives, some still enjoy wandering the aisles of a costume store (38%) or creating something unique from what they find at the thrift store (13%). Of those who chose to shop, it was split fairly evenly between the number who chose specialty retailers like Spirit Halloween and the number who chose big online marketplaces like Amazon.
Deciding what to dress as and where to get the costume and supplies is a dance between creative vision and what feels feasible in the weeks leading up to October 31. But the strongest driver (65%) is budget.
“I went to the costume store and found all the costumes to be quite expensive,” said one respondent. “So I thought, ‘Why don’t I just get a bottle of fake blood?’ I took a white T-shirt from home, cut it up, and it was really fun. People thought it was cool.”
For brands, that kind of last-minute creativity is gold. Products don’t need to stand alone like the pre-made costumes that can be bought in certain stores. Instead, products can be marketed as versatile ingredients for something of the customer’s own creation, such as an ingredient in a costume, a decoration, or a party snack. They can become part of a creative toolkit.
When asked where their costume ideas come from, 83% said pop culture was their main source of inspiration, followed closely by social media at 60%.
“If I see an influencer I follow, like a member of the K-pop group BTS, wearing a certain costume that I think is a really good idea, I might steal it from them,” said one respondent. Another said they look to platforms like YouTube and TikTok for inspiration.
For brands, this shows how quickly cultural moments can influence purchase decisions. Seasonal campaigns can benefit from acting as fast as the trends themselves, responding to what’s hot in real time.
Ghosts: Belief in the supernatural
Historically, Halloween is about our relationship with the dead whether as a way to ward them off or honor those who have come before us. But it has now become a part of our culture somewhat divorced from that history.
While all respondents in our study celebrated Halloween, only about 55% of respondents said they believe in the supernatural. The rest were skeptical or open to it, but unsure.
“I don't really believe in ghosts or the supernatural,” one respondent said, “though those shows about them do freak me out because I always have a little voice in my head, like, what if?”
And while some stories ignite our imagination intellectually, other believers have more personal connections to the dead.
“I have family members who have passed away, particularly my son,” said one respondent explaining her experience with psychics and the supernatural. “He came to visit me. It felt like he was letting me know he's okay where he is now.”
This opens a door for emotionally intelligent storytelling. Brands aren’t limited to just fright this time of year. They can tap into remembrance, nostalgia, or togetherness to connect across audiences who celebrate Halloween in very different ways.
Whether or not people believe in spirits, the connective aspect of Halloween endures, even if it’s just to people who are still living. It’s social and gives us a way to express individuality as well as belonging, the same tension that defines how people engage with brands all year long.
Traditions: Meaningful sense of community
Participants most often cited trick-or-treating (78%), whether handing out candy or going door to door, as the tradition they looked forward to participating in the most. A close second at 60% is crafting their costume. Nearly half shared that they will attend some form of community event.
“Oh, we've also participated in some trunk-or-treats, which isn't something I grew up with, but it's popular,” said one respondent. “I think it's a great activity to get people out of the house, meeting their neighbors, and just having a good time.”
Others mentioned pumpkin patches, corn mazes, concerts, parties, and more.
What was particularly insightful was that 70% of people reported starting a new Halloween tradition in the past few years. Whether it’s watching a scary movie with family, putting decorations outside, or a new way to distribute candy to trick-or-treaters, the Halloween market is still ripe for new products and activities to help people celebrate. Things that make celebration easier like resealable packaging, shareable snack assortments, or easy-decor kits align perfectly with consumers’ desire for low-stress, high-fun community experiences.
Lessons Beyond Halloween
Across costumes, beliefs, and traditions, companies have a unique opportunity to celebrate the creativity and diversity that make this holiday so enduring. Shoppers are looking for reliable materials to bring their costume ideas to life, and for new products and experiences that make the season even more fun.
The best brands will meet that moment. Follow the cultural trends. Encourage the DIY instinct. Turn the last-minute scramble into part of the celebration. When products and experiences become woven into the nostalgia, laughter, and flickering lights of Halloween, they stop being just purchases and start becoming traditions.
Because at the end of the day, people don’t just buy costumes, they buy the chance to be someone else for a night. In that transformation lies the real opportunity for marketers: to create experiences that feel more human, more playful, and more connected.
Curious what other ghosts your customers might have yet to uncover? Book a 15-minute walkthrough to learn how Listen Labs can help you reveal those secrets—during Halloween and beyond.