With today marking Halloween in 2012, it should come as no surprise that Americans will spend roughly $8 billion (with a B) on Halloween related items. From costumes for kids to spooky cards sent to friends, Halloween attracts people from all walks of life including the wealthy, the not so wealthy, and everyone in between. Halloween embodies frivolous spending to the t. Not only is it essential for everyone to dress up and pass out candy, for whatever reason we’re also compelled to dress up our pets in Halloween inspired costumes. From the ever famous pumpkin to the ahead-of-its-time hula dancer, animal abuse is at its highest on October 31st. Halloween is also a time for those imaginative individuals to break out of their shell for everyone to see. But funny enough the infographic below details that the largest percent of us are getting costume inspiration from retail locations as opposed to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest combined. Interesting to think about. Retail and word of mouth communication still have power to the tune of more than 1/3 of all costume ideas. If you’re interested in learning more about Halloween by the numbers, take a look at this infographic found on Mashable’s website. Maybe it will give you inspiration for next year!