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Little yellow Minions, pint-size Yodas and pretty pink princesses are planning a takeover this Halloween as consumers’ costume decisions shed light on an epic year for pop-culture fanatics. According to NRF’s 2015 Halloween Consumer Top Costumes Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Minions and “Star Wars” characters each made an appearance on all three top costume lists – adult, children’s and pets.

As part of the National Retail Federation’s annual Retail Advocates Summit fly-in, NRF recognized a bipartisan group of 289 members of Congress for their support of retail industry public policy priorities such as international trade, patent reform, health care, tax reform and labor relations.

Total spending on food items for the holiday is estimated to reach $6.6 billion.

Father’s Day may not be the most lucrative consumer holiday of the year for retailers, but companies this year will be singing to the tune of $12.7 billion in spending on golf lessons, home improvement tools, coffee mugs and more.

The National Labor Relations Board’s decision to recognize a micro-union of workers in just a single department at a Macy’s store in Massachusetts rather than the entire store violates longstanding precedents on union organizing, the National Retail Federation and the Retail Industry Leaders Association said today in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Families this year are ready to splurge on jewelry, flowers, gift cards, brunch, and apparel for dear old mom. According to NRF’s 2015 Mother’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, Americans will spend an average of $172.63 on mom this year, up nearly $10 from $162.94 last year and the highest amount in the survey’s 12-year history. Total spending is expected to reach $21.2 billion.*

Hoping the temperatures will meld with their desire to celebrate, 80 percent of Americans this Easter are eagerly looking forward to a fun, family-filled holiday. According to the National Retail Federation’s Easter Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, the average person celebrating Easter will spend $140.62, slightly more than last year’s $137.46. Total spending for Easter, which includes purchases of apparel, decorations, gifts, candy, food, flowers and more, is expected to reach $16.4 billion.

After a long winter, consumers are looking for a reason to shed their coats, and donning their favorite Irish or green garb to take part in St. Patrick’s Day traditions may just do the trick. According to NRF’s St. Patrick’s Day Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, nearly 127 million Americans are planning to celebrate the traditional Irish holiday.

Playing it safe and planning ahead, Americans this year are planning to stash away their tax refund into savings. According to NRF’s Tax Returns Survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics, 47 percent of those expecting a refund plan to put their money into savings, the highest percent in the survey’s history. Nearly two-thirds (65.7%) of those surveyed are expecting a refund this year.

According to the National Retail Federation’s Valentine’s Day Consumer Spending Survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics, the average person celebrating Valentine’s Day will spend $142.31 on candy, flowers, apparel and more, up from $133.91 last year. Total spending is expected to reach $18.9 billion, a survey high.