Dog parents to spend nearly $1B on Halloween costumes this year — and one costume leads the pack
Pooch parents are expected to shell out nearly $1 billion on Halloween costumes this year — and pumpkins are leading the pack, the National Retail Federation reported.
The group’s 2026 survey — conducted between Sept. 1-9 — asked 7,889 consumers across the nation about their Halloween shopping plans.
They found the most popular costume for dogs was a pumpkin, which snapped up 11.6% of the vote, a hot dog at 5.9% and a ghost, which came in third at 2.8%.
Other popular pet get-ups include superheroes, witches, lions, spiders, dragons, clowns, devils and sharks.
New Yorkers are going into the spooky fun holiday armed their own unique take on the dress-up game — resulting in a mind-blowing variety of doggie-loving disguises.
At Abracadabra, a costume shop on West 21st Street, store assistant Alexis said that Krypto the Superdog, Superman’s loyal Kryptonian pet and companion in DC Comics and live-action media, is the No. 1 seller.
“We’ve had people asking for all kinds of costumes for their dog,” she said. “Other requests include Mini Mouse, Superman, the Penguin, Snow White and Scooby Doo.”
Meanwhile, Halloween Adventure Store on 4th Avenue is selling out of Pupasaurus Rex costumes.
“People love the dinosaur for their dogs,” said sales associate Tiffany. “It’s a cute little costume. After that, we’ve been selling Power Rangers and the third costume that I’ve seen selling a lot is Chucky.”
As far as kitty owners, Tiffany laughed, “I’ve had a couple calls asking if the smallest dog costumes will fit their cat, but I don’t find that cat owners want to dress their pets up as much. I don’t think they’re as cooperative as the dogs.”
In Bryant Park’s Sept. 19th Paws on Parade, the 150 pooches who walked the route were gussied up by their proud owners in a wide variety of costumes, including princesses, rescue workers, flamenco dancers, and a sushi platter.
In the Pet Market NYC stores dotted around the city, anything goes.
“Whether your pet wants to be Elvis, Beetlejuice or a Stegosaurus, we’ve got you covered,” said the sales person in a hilarious Facebook post. “Foxes and bears and unicorns — oh my!”
