As the pumpkins, sweet-wrappers and ghostly garbs are cleared away, forecasters expect American Halloween spending bills to have broken records. The average shopper was projected to spend $108 on sweets, costumes and decorations during this trick-or-treating season — with total expenditure set to exceed $12bn. But even before the October 31 festivities, it has been clear that the US consumer is experiencing a sugar rush.America’s economy grew at a 4.9 per cent annualised rate in the third quarter; the fastest since 2021. With consumer spending accounting for two-thirds of the economy, much of the jump is down to a surprise shopping spree. Retail sales registered their sixth-straight month of growth in September. The resilience of the US consumer defies the gloomy economic backdrop — 18 months of high inflation, rising interest rates and plenty of uncertainty. Real consumption spending has grown almost 2 percentage points more than private forecasters expected this time last year.
萬聖節(Halloween)過後，在南瓜、糖果包裝紙和幽靈服裝被打掃乾淨之際，預測者預計美國人在今年萬聖節的支出打破了紀錄。在這個「不給糖就搗蛋」的季節，購物者平均花費108美元購買糖果、服裝和裝飾品，總支出超過120億美元。但即使在這個每年10月31日舉行的活動之前，美國消費者就顯然在經歷一場「糖果風暴」。