Most popular Halloween costumes for 2019? No big surprises in store

Princesses and superheroes never get old.

Princess costumes, including Frozen’s Elsa and Anna, are among the most popular kids’ costumes again this year, joining a host of heroes including Spider-Man and other Avengers characters. (In Illinois, the most popular costumes remain Mickey and Minnie Mouse).

Adults may oooh and aaahh at new, clever ideas, but children like what they like and that doesn’t change much, explained Phil Rist, Prosper Insights executive vice president for strategy.

“Halloween celebrations are primarily for children, and we see many of the same costume choices year after year,” Rist said. “

The National Retail Federation released data that showed close to half of shoppers (42%) plan to hit the discount stores to buy their Halloween merchandise. The remainder will hit specialty Halloween or costume stores, shop online, go to the grocery or department store.

And they’ll be buying lots of princess and superhero costumes for kids. The survey found 3.1 million children plan to dress up as their favorite princess and 2.4 million as their favorite superhero.

According to the same NRF survey, consumers plan to spend $3.2 billion on costumes, $2.6 billion on candy, $2.7 billion on decorations and $390 million on greeting cards.

Here are the top 10 costumes for 2019:

1. Princess

7.9% — Women have come a long way from “damsel in distress” to “independent woman.” But girls still flock to twirl in ball gowns. Boys are joining in, too.

2. Superhero

6% — Both boys and girls can be heroic – anything from Marvel and DC universes to children’s animated series like Netflix’s “She-Ra.”

3. Spider-Man

5.2% —The web-slinger has made the most-popular list three years in a row, but he’s risen to new heights this year.

4. Avengers character (excluding Spider-Man)

3.9% — ”Avengers Endgame” came out this year, and Avengers-themed toys are expected to be among the most popular holiday gifts.

5. Batman

3.5% — You see pint-size Dark Knights every year. Still, don’t deprive kids of saying, “I’m Batman.” Ask who they are when they show up on Halloween.

6. Witch

3.3%— The witch can be cute or fierce of combined with other costumes to be a vampire witch. There’s no such thing anymore as a simple witch.

7. Ghost

2.8% — Is this really on the list? Yes. This classic simply never goes out of style.

8. Vampire

2.2% — Like the witch, the vampire of 2019 is versatile. He and she can go all black or add eye-popping purple and red adornments or be more punk rock or bat-like.

9. Frozen (Elsa, Anna)

2.2% —These princesses are so popular they get a category of their own. And with the buzz surrounding “Frozen 2,” we expect to see a lot of ice princesses at our door this Halloween.

10. Pirate

2.1% — A patch over one eye? A sword? A chance to talk like a pirate. Ahoy Matey! Of course, this makes the most-popular list.

Read more at usatoday.com.