The figure covers shopping at pound stores, although more than a quarter of shoppers (27%) also said they aimed to buy Halloween goodies from food discounters Aldi and Lidl.
In addition, according to the survey of 1,008 people earlier this month, almost a third (32%) of families said they would use online grocery websites to buy grocery items for the ghoulish celebration.
Spread purchases
A total of 65% still said they would use supermarkets for their spooky purchases, and the IGD stressed the same people might choose to spread purchases across discounters and supermarkets.
“A quarter of them (24%) say they’ll shop around more than last year to find the top deals for their Halloween items,” said IGD ceo Joanne Denney-Finch.
However, the data still offers food for thought to traditional grocery retailers, given the inroads Aldi and Lidl in particular had made in the grocery market over the past few years.
According to the ShopperVista research from research and training charity IGD, six out of 10 (62%) of families had bought or planned to buy Halloween items this year.
The most popular items that they planned to buy more of this year were family themed, with the top three being party games, healthier snacks and home-baking items.
‘Well established’
“Although Halloween remains a bigger occasion in the US, it has become well established in the UK,” said IGD ceo Joanne Denney-Finch. “Seven out of 10 (68% of) families tell us they’re going to celebrate Halloween this year.”
Pumpkin producers looked like having a good time of it, with more than four in 10 shoppers (43%) of the 1,000 surveyed having bought or planning to buy the vegetable.
A total of 39% of shoppers said they intended to buy more seasonal paraphernalia this year than last year, but still wanted to ensure the best value.