What kids see in film and TV heavily influences them, and the top children's costumes for Halloween 2015 prove as much, according to Consumer Affairs.
The National Retail Federation released its 2015 Halloween Consumer Top Costumes survey, and a Yahoo News report indicated princess costumes topped the kid category for the 11th year in a row, with Batman and other action heroes coming in at second and third, respectively.
According to Yahoo News, the survey featured responses from 6,754 consumers. Princesses topping the list means an estimated 3.2 million children will pick that costume to wear Oct. 31; in comparison, 2 million children will dress as Anna or Elsa from Disney's "Frozen," which NRF listed as the fifth most popular.
Above all, Kathy Grannis Allen, senior director of media relations at the NRF, attributed princess costumes' long run at the top to an interest in fairy tales.
“Children love the idea of fairy tales, which they learn about at a very young age,” Allen told Yahoo News. “This could contribute to princess costumes topping the list for so many years.”
But pop culture dictates their choices too.
In addition to "Frozen" and Batman, Star Wars characters and Minions made the list, according to Consumer Affairs. This proves Halloween reflects landmark events in pop culture on a year-to-year basis, said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay.
“As we’ve seen for several years, Hollywood and pop culture both have a tremendous impact on how adults and their children decide to dress the part each Halloween, and it’s evident some of the biggest newsmakers of the year will be out in full force this fall,” Shay told Consumer Affairs.
According to NBC News, the NRF survey's other findings include 157 million Americans will take part in the holiday, and spending is expected to reach $6.9 billion, down from $7.4 billion last year.
On average, those participating will spend $74.34, the survey read.
NBC News reported 70 percent of millennials plan to dress up, and a considerable amount of them turn to the Internet for inspiration: More than 13 percent of young adults plan to find "fun and unique" costumes on Pinterest.
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Payton Davis is the Deseret News National intern. Send him an email at pdavis@deseretdigital.com and follow him on Twitter, @Davis_DNN.