More than one in five Australians to partake in Halloween celebrations

Love it or loathe it, the spooky season is upon us. Halloween has arrived. More than one in five Australians are expected to get involved this year.

Transcript

00:00I think whether you're a lover of Halloween or you're a Halloween hater, it really is

00:05here to stay with people really getting into the spooky season like this incredible house

00:09behind us.

00:10Now, statistics do show that around one in five Australians will be getting involved

00:14in celebrations, and we're set to spend around $450 million as well on things like costumes,

00:21decorations, and the most important bit, those sweet treats as well.

00:24Now, the Australian Retailers Association does say, though, that we are a bit down on

00:28spending this year as people are still facing that cost-of-living crunch, but they do say

00:33that there's other options.

00:34People can look to social media for DIYs or some of those budget costumes.

00:38Now, it might be growing in popularity here in Australia, though, but there are certainly

00:42some people who think that Halloween is a bit too American to be here, or maybe it's

00:47a bit of a consumerism-driven thing to spend that money.

00:50We spoke to some people this morning, and here's what they had to say.

00:53As people see more American culture celebrating it, kids get really, really into it as well.

00:58The costumes and the more stores here get into it as well.

01:02I think it really, really spreads.

01:04And some people might say Halloween's, you know, really American, doesn't have a place

01:07here, it's a bit commercial.

01:08What do you have to say about that?

01:09I just think it's a lot of fun.

01:10I think it's great to get dressed up and express ourselves.

01:14And some people say that Halloween's really American.

01:16It doesn't have a spot here.

01:17It's all about spending money on things.

01:18What do you guys reckon about that?

01:19Nah, not at all.

01:20It is here.

01:21It is here.

01:22We should do it, you know, like, it doesn't matter what festival it is, but we should

01:27just go, like, and celebrate how we're going to celebrate it.

01:32Because, you know, we're earning for that, we are just doing work for that.

01:37We're going to spend how we like it.

01:39So whether you're a Halloween lover or a Halloween hater, it does seem pretty clear it's here

01:42to stay.

01:43And I hope everyone at home has more treats than tricks tonight.