Americans Will Spend $330 Million on Halloween Pet Costumes

By Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell | Pet360.com
If you're dressing up your four-legged furry kid for Halloween this year, you're definitely not alone. Trends for 2013 show that the most popular pet costumes are the following: a pumpkin, a hot dog as a close second, cat, and devil.
According to a National Retail Federation Spending Survey, Halloween is second only to Christmas in spending and since 2005 spending on Halloween has increased 54.7 percent with total spending estimated to reach $6.9 billion in 2013.
A good portion of the spending for Halloween comes in buying human costumes, but of the people surveyed, an additional 13.8 percent of pet parents plan on dressing up their four-legged companions as well.
An estimated $330 million will be spent on finding just the right costume for Fido or Fluffy. This number has jumped an astonishing 65% since 2010.
Finding just the right costume for your pet's personality (or yours) isn't limited as in days past. Pet parents could once count on their favorite retailer only carrying a few selections of pet Halloween costumes, but today, there are literally hundreds of choices. This is especially true when you add online retailers into the equation.
Tired of dressing your wiener dog like a wiener dog? Maybe he would like to be a banana, Elvis or maybe even Katy Perry. Of course, there is also the ever popular Dorothy and Toto for those yellow brick road fans. But why not spice up your pet's Halloween costume this year?
Every cat and dog we contacted for this piece declined to comment about their love - or not - of being dressed up, but animal welfare experts see it only as a continuation of integrating pets as part of our family.
"It's cute to dress your pet up like a monster," Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, science advisor at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, told Newsweek. "The reality here is that pets are becoming much more integrated into our families… The people who take the time to dress up their pets are probably the ones who get good veterinary care [for their pets] and make sure they have good food, exercise and attention."
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Halloween Costumes for Dogs and Cats: Survey Results!
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Halloween Costume Inspiration
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