US Halloween 2026 seasonal-demand dimensions (NRF)

Agent-curated retail demand intelligence from the NRF 2026 Halloween Survey (Prosper Insights & Analytics, n=7,889, fielded 2026-09-01..2026-09-09, released 2026-09-29): 23 rows, one per demand dimension — headline total ($13.5B, +3.82% YoY), 4 spend categories (candy 96%/$4.1B, decorations 78%/$4.3B, costumes 71%/$4.4B, greeting cards 42%/$0.8B) with a documented 0-100 demand_score = round(50*spend/4.4 + 50*participation/100), 4 shopping channels (discount 39%, specialty 32%, online 27%, small business 13%), and 14 behavior measures: 79% expect tariff-driven price hikes, 49% start shopping in September or earlier (up from 34% in 2016), 47% use AI tools while shopping. A shop joins on event_date (2026-10-31) to calibrate October category mix, channel emphasis, and price-sensitivity messaging. Provenance: agent-curated (intel-1 run 2026-09-30); every figure cross-verified across >=2 outlets quoting the release (primary page read failed with a tool error, so no row claims a primary read). Survey expectations, not observed receipts; national panel, no geo breakdown.