NRF reveals costume trends for Halloween 2010

WASHINGTON Expect to see many consumers donning Buzz Lightyear and Alice in Wonderland costumes this Halloween, a survey conducted by BIGresearch on behalf of the National Retail Federation revealed.

The survey found that nearly 120 million children, adults and their pets likely are to sport traditional and trendy costumes this year, but some old habits are tough to break: About 4.3 million children will dress up as a princess this year. Other popular costumes, such as witches and pumpkins, also continue to be popular choices this year, NRF said.

What's more, pop culture and Hollywood still play a large role in costume choices for all ages. Thousands of children will hit the streets dressed as Buzz Lightyear (648,000) and Harry Potter characters (459,000) this year -- both are new to the list. Nearly 1.8 million children will crawl through town as Spider-Man (No. 2) and 1.7 million will be a witch (No. 3). Additionally, "Alice in Wonderland" characters made the adult costume list for the first time this year, tying with Star Wars characters (No. 16).

“Aiming to attract shoppers of all ages, retailers have already begun stocking their shelves with a wide variety of costumes, from classic favorites to pop-culture icons,” said NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay. “With more people than ever planning to dress up this Halloween, partygoers should not wait until last minute to buy their costumes.”