Capturing the Spirit of Selling Halloween

No, you’re not imagining it. Halloween is getting more popular and consumers are shopping earlier than ever before. From décor to entertaining to costumes and specialty food, there’s no shortage of ways home and housewares retailers can join the party and start selling Halloween merchandise this year. We’ve conjured up some wicked good info for you:

Who
According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 73% of U.S. survey respondents planned to participate in a Halloween activity in 2023 (2024 survey data isn’t available yet.) That’s 4% higher than 2022 and 1% higher than 2017. It’s interesting to note that this number declined in both 2018 and 2019 before hitting a low in 2020, and then steadily rebounding in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

“What we’re seeing… is it’s not necessarily just those college-age students, younger consumers who are getting out there,” said Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights. “A lot of this is being driven by millennials and older millennials who are planning those parties, getting dressed up in costume and really seizing onto this holiday.”

When
That’s why many retailers are starting to stock more Halloween merchandise—and earlier. This year, Home Depot dropped new merchandise in April in a special “Halfway to Halloween” promotion. Many other major retailers followed suit in June, July and August.

All that new merchandise—and anticipation of the main event—even fueled precursors to the main event: Summerween. Think parties with “’jack-o’ lanterns made out of watermelons, orange-colored summer drinks and skeletons cooling off in inflatable pools,” says Modern Retail.

Where
While Home Depot’s April sale was online-only, many retailers started stocking and selling Halloween merchandise in stores over the summer. Some of the highly sought-after items that have gone viral are sold both online and in-store. Spirit Halloween recently announced they will open a record number of bricks-and-mortar stores (1,525) by the end of September.

Why
All the excitement around Halloween may boil down to the fact it’s no longer seen as just a kid’s holiday, with nostalgia contributing to it as well. After all, when you look at NRF’s data, spending on children’s costumes was relatively flat in the last five years,  though there was an increase in 2023. Spending on adult costumes has been steadily growing since 2020.

What
There’s still plenty of opportunity to connect with a wide variety of shoppers on Halloween. Some trending themes for décor and entertaining include:

• • Pinkoween – Yes, consumers are showing interest in pink pumpkins, goblins and ghosts.
  • Other non-traditional styles and motifs – In fact, there’s growing attention to any number of creative spins on traditional Halloween looks—think mash-ups with boho, hippie or dark romantic styles.
  • Skeletons – Skeletons seems to have ditched their creepy origins and have become whimsical and almost personable.

How
Retailers looking to get in on the selling Halloween spirit should look for timely tie-ins and trends, in addition to ways to appeal to different tastes and home aesthetics. This could mean marketing Halloween-specific merchandise but can also be achieved by creatively displaying or curating existing products. Think pretty pink dishes or dramatic black stemware. Consumers are sure to appreciate items that will help them host Halloween parties of all kinds. You can also sweeten the pot by offering nostogic candy and specialty food items.

Encourage employees to embrace the Halloween spirit by dressing in costume in the weeks leading up to the holiday or hosting a ‘trick or treat’ contest or sale. But most importantly, have fun with Halloween and let the excitement shine through in your sales!