The trendiest costume this Halloween is literally coming back from the dead. According to NRF’s 2011 Top Costumes survey, more than 2.6 million men, women and children plan to dress as zombies this year. Due to the popularity of the characters in recent books, television shows and video games, zombie costumes jumped from No. 22 last year to No. 8 on the children’s top costume list, and from No. 7 to No. 4 on the adult list. Americans are expected to spend $2.5 billion on Halloween costumes this year, forking over $1 billion on children’s costumes, $1.2 billion on adult costumes, and $310 million on pet costumes. The average person will spend $72.31 on Halloween candy, costumes and décor, bringing total spending to $6.86 billion – the most in the survey’s nine-year history. 2011’s top costumes:
| Top Adult Costumes | Top Children’s Costumes | Top Pet Costumes |
| 1. Witch | 1. Princess | 1. Pumpkin |
| 2. Pirate | 2. Witch | 2. Devil |
| 3. Vampire | 3. Spiderman | 3. Hot dog |
| 4. Zombie | 4. Pirate | 4. Bee |
| 5. Batman character | 5. Pumpkin | 5. Cat |
| 6. Cat | 6. Fairy | 6. Witch |
| 7. Vixen | 7. Action/super hero | 7. Bowties/fancy collars/bandanas |
| 8. Ghost | 8. (Tie) Batman | 8. Pirate |
| 9. Nurse | 8. (Tie) Vampire | 9. Dog |
| 10. Scary costume/mask | 9. (Tie) Disney princess | 10. Ghost |
| 9. (Tie) Zombies | ||
| 10. “Star Wars” Characters |
