Dogs with busy social lives dress up for more than Halloween
The National Retail Federation estimates that 20 million pet owners will dress their pets this Halloween, spending $350 million on the costumes.
The online marketplace eBay had 1.5 million pet costumes for sale on Oct. 21 out of 800 million items listed for sale, with 159 million active customers in 200 countries, said Zoher Karu, vice president of global optimization and data for eBay.
"There does not seem to be a ceiling on what people are willing to spend on their pets," said Michael Esposito, the company's business development and affiliate marketing director.
Halloween costumes for pets and people tend to follow news headlines and movies.
"In March next year, Batman and Superman — two of the most iconic superheroes — will face off on the big screen, but we are already seeing the competition play out in stores and online this Halloween season with these two costumes neck-and-neck, topping our best-selling list," said Eran Cohen, chief customer experience officer for PetSmart.
For adults, the top five costumes are Batman, Frozen characters, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars characters and French maid.
The Minions, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Power Rangers round out the kids list.
Cynthia Dalangin has been in charge of Wally's wardrobe expansion, buying from eBay, PetSmart, DIY sites and garage sales.