A study conducted for The National Retail Federation's (NRF) by BIGresearch has found that the princess is by far the most popular Halloween costume for kids for the second year in a row. 11.5% of kids surveyed said they planned to dress up as a princess. That figure doesn't include another 3.1% of children who plan to dress up as a Disney princess. Other popular costume choices include pirates, witches and Spider-Man. Those are Ariel and Spider-Man costumes in the photograph. They are sold in Lillian Vernon's Halloween store. The NRF study also found that more people are buying costumes this year.
"When it comes to dressing for Halloween, traditional costumes never go out of style," said Tracy Mullin, NRF President and CEO. "In order to please consumers of all ages, retailers have begun stocking their shelves with a wide variety of costumes, from classic favorites to pop-culture icons."
According to the survey, 59.9 percent of consumers plan to buy a Halloween costume this year, up from 53.3 percent in 2005, with the average person spending $21.57 on that purchase. This year an estimated $4.96 billion will be spent on the holiday, making it the sixth largest spending holiday of the year.
Here is the list of the top costumes for 2006.
1.
Princess
11.5%
2.
Pirate
5.0%
3.
Witch
4.8%
4.
Spider-Man
4.4%
5.
Superman
3.7%
6.
Disney Princess
3.1%
7.
Power Ranger
2.9%
8.
Pumpkin
2.2%
9.
Cat
2.0%
10.
Vampire
1.5%
11.
Angel
1.4%
12.
Fairy
1.4%
13.
Ninja
1.4%
14.
SpongeBob SquarePants
1.4%
15.
Batman
1.3%
16.
Cheerleader
1.3%
17.
Football Player
1.3%
18.
Tinkerbell
1.3%
19.
Monster
1.2%
20.
Star Wars Character
1.2%
The princess was also the top choice on last year's survey. Pirate costumes were on last year's list as well but farther down the list in the 11th place. Some online retailers that carry costumes include: Amazon.com, BuyCostumes.com, Etoys.com and ToysRUs.com.
A study conducted for The National Retail Federation's (NRF) by BIGresearch has found that the princess is by far the most popular Halloween costume for kids for the second year in a row. 11.5% of kids surveyed said they planned to dress up as a princess. That figure doesn't include another 3.1% of children who plan to dress up as a Disney princess. Other popular costume choices include pirates, witches and Spider-Man. Those are Ariel and Spider-Man costumes in the photograph. They are sold in 
