Dog Costumes Are Big Business For Retailers This Halloween

Dog costumes, and pet Halloween outfits in general, generate a bit more money than most people may realize. According to The Star-Ledger, retailers are expected to gross around $370 million this year on costumes designed to embarrass your four-legged companions. While dressing up a pet for Halloween probably seems ridiculous to some, there’s apparently plenty of money to be made in the business.

“Americans in general don’t want to skimp on their pets — if the family is dressing up for the evening, they want to make sure all family members get in on the fun,” National Retail Federation spokesperson Kathy Grannis explained.

According to the federation’s report, 170 million Americans will spend roughly $80 a piece on outfits for the family pet. Dog costumes have become so popular in certain areas that retailers have pieced together “look books” to show off the latest, greatest, and most popular choices. Shaming your dog by putting him in a Princess Leia outfit, it would seem, is making costume designers very wealthy.

Playing dress-up with your dog and/or cat around Halloween, while nothing new, is quickly becoming a lucrative business. The number of people who are buying into the phenomenon seems to grow each year; retail sales for pet costumes is reportedly up $40 million from last year. Given the number of dog costume pictures currently floating around Facebook and Twitter, the trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

“This time of year people start coming in. Usually at the last minute. Come in and decide to go to a dog party or one of the events going on in town or in Tallahassee,” Georgia pet shop owner Cindi Beever recently explained to WALB-TV.

According to The Huffington Post, entire parades have been constructed around dressing up your dog in funny outfits. At the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade in New York City over the weekend, a number of canine-loving individuals showed up with their furry best friends in tow. A video featuring a number of the creative costumes featured at this year’s event has been embedded below.

Are you planning to dog costume for your four-legged friend this Halloween?