Submitted - Lisa Wegman“Halloween costumes sell really well, actually,” said Lisa Wegman, associate lead with keys at PetSmart in University Commons.PetSmart itself held a costume contest in mid-October, but many customers bought animal outfits for the Howl-O-Ween Pooch Parade and Pet Expo, held Oct. 21 in nearby University of Tennessee Gardens, she said. Millennials' roleMore than 31 million Americans plan to dress up their pets, and the owners most likely to do so are millennials, according to Philip Rist, executive vice president of Prosper Insights & Analytics. On behalf of the NRF, Prosper surveyed nearly 7,000 people in September about their holiday shopping plans.Nearly 20 percent of the 175 million Americans celebrating Halloween will dress up their pets, an increase from last year’s 16 percent, according to a Prosper news release.That’s the most in the history of NRF’s Halloween surveys, Rist said in the announcement.
Jim Gaines/News SentinelIn an era of elaborate cosplay for humans, basic pet costumes aren’t terribly expensive. At PetSmart, butterfly wings and little cowboy hats are $9.97, while full-body costumes run in the $16.99 to $18.99 range.
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But those are already markdown prices: Costumes arrived Aug. 12 and went on sale a couple of weeks before Halloween, Wegman said.There is still a rack of hats, wings, collars and full outfits near the front of the store — near displays of other pet clothing, including orange UT gear — but PetSmart condensed its Halloween section Oct. 22 to make room for arriving Christmas items, manager Tanner Bradford said. Brianna Paciorka/News SentinelFurry teddy bear outfits are popular this year, but that’s new, Wegman said.“The hot costume is always, always a pumpkin,” she said.Wegman is right, according to NRF. Surveyors found 11.2 percent of pet costume buyers plan to dress up their animals as pumpkins, making it the most popular pet costume out there.
The nine next most popular types are as follows:. 7.4 percent: hot dog;. 4.9 percent: bumblebee;.
3.2 percent: devil;. 3.1 percent: cat;. 3.1 percent: dog;. 2.1 percent: lion;. 2.8 percent: 'Star Wars' character;. 2.7 percent: superhero;. 2.5 percent: ghost.That’s generally borne out at Pet Supplies Plus on Kingston Pike, according to shift leader Emily Rogers.
Shark, banana and taco costumes went first, but pumpkin, hot dog, lobster and superhero costumes moved well too, she said. On the rack near the door one hot dog costume was left, hidden behind a banana. Jim Gaines/News Sentinel“People seem to be buying the 'Star Wars' stuff more often than last year,” Rogers said. Pet Supplies Plus still had Yoda ears available but was sold out of Chewbacca outfits.At Paws Pet Supply and Grooming in Powell, costumes that make the pet look like it’s carrying something or being ridden were popular, owner Tracy Gardner said.
Contrary to the national trend, sharks and hot dogs weren’t popular this year in Powell, she said. But her store didn’t carry many — only 15 or 20 costumes, now down to three.“As soon as you put them on the shelf they’re, like, gone,” Gardner said. “We put them out the first of October, and they were gone within two weeks.”. Submitted - Lisa Wegman, PetSmartNumbers gameHalloween spending is far behind Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter, Valentine’s Day — even behind graduation gifts (but ahead of Super Bowl parties), according to the NRF survey. Though dollar totals keep mounting, the ranking hasn’t changed in at least a couple of years.“The economy is good and consumer confidence is high, so families are ready to spend on Halloween this year,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said in a news release.Shoppers plan to spend an average $86.79 on Halloween goods, according to the survey.
Ninety-five percent of them will buy candy, 74 percent will buy decorations, 68 percent will spend on costumes, and 35 percent plan to buy Halloween greeting cards, the survey found. Submitted/Lisa WegmanThat’s $2.6 billion on candy, $2.7 billion on decorations, $3.2 billion on costumes and $400 million in greeting cards.Now is the time to get pet costumes, since they’re already being marked down, Rogers said. Most at Pet Supplies Plus are now $13.98 instead of $24.88.
Licensed-character costumes aren’t discounted that much, but they’re still on sale, she said.“Right now they’re about as low as they’re going to get because it’s almost Halloween,” Rogers said.At Paws Pet Supply and Grooming, the costumes Gardner got in run from $9.99 to $29.99, she said. Jim Gaines/News SentinelMany pet owners who are dressing up for Halloween themselves also will get costumes for their pets, Gardner said. Most often, that will be younger people who own small dogs, she said.Some costume purchases are impulse buys, but most owners plan to bring in their pets to ensure they are getting the right size, Bradford said. Even those who don’t often know what sizes their pets need, so they get it right the first time, he said.“We haven’t seen a lot of returns or anything of that nature,” Bradford said.Just about everything locally available will be intended only for dogs, or maybe cats, Wegman said, but Bradford said PetSmarts in bigger cities do have a range for other small mammals.“Our larger stores carry costumes cut for guinea pigs even,” Bradford said.Pet Supplies Plus carries “overwhelmingly dog” costumes, with just a few for cats, such as a witch hat and a collar, Rogers said. She got her own cat a doughnut costume last year, but the cat immediately tried to peel it off, she said.Rogers used to work at the Pet Supplies Plus in Maryville, which catered almost exclusively to small dogs. The Kingston Pike store does get more for large dogs — though not too much stock comes in for them either, she said. Saul Young/News Sentinel“We tend to sell out early of the big sizes of dog apparel in general,” Rogers said.
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The store had to reorder larger sizes of UT dog clothing, she said.Overall, though, the majority of dogs dressed up for Halloween will be smaller ones, Rogers said.Wegman said she think the rationale for pet costumes is split between trick-or-treating in association with children — matching or complementing the kids’ costumes — and attending Halloween events and costume contests.Rogers said a few customers told her they just want to take pictures of their pet in a costume. But her own Chihuahua-beagle mix will be dressed as a lobster or hot dog when Rogers hands out candy to trick-or-treaters. Even the brief enjoyment is worth the price for many people, she said.“It’s always the fun, gimmicky stuff,” Rogers said. “You can take a picture and post it on Instagram and be like ‘Hey, look, my dog’s a lobster.’ ”.